Mike Tyson reveals he paid $50,000 for each of his pet tigers and kept one for 16 years before it ‘ripped someone’s arm off’ and cost him $250,000 in compensation

Mike Tyson owned three pet tigers back in the 1990s/2000s and paid $50,000 each for them.

At the peak of his powers as heavyweight champion of the world, Iron Mike had pretty much everything money could buy.

However, as a result of a chance meeting one day, he even managed to acquire a selection of pets money normally can’t get close to.

Tyson owned three white tigers at one point in time, keeping them in his home when they were cubs.

As they got bigger, he donated two of the animals to a sanctuary, while continuing to keep one for 16 years.

Asked how he got his tigers, Tyson said on his Hotboxin’ Podcast: “Black market. This guy was selling them and said, ‘I can get a full grown one for $70,000 or I can get a small one for like $50,000.’

“So I got the baby. I get the baby, we feed the baby with a bottle and then eventually she’s 400lbs.

“And then you figure out – how do I get rid of this motherf***er?!”

Asked if they were ever aggressive, he replied: “Not to me.

“Never to me.”

Previously, Tyson explained the story of why he had to get rid of the tiger he kept for 16 years.

He revealed in a GQ interview “I had to get rid of her when her eyes and her head got bad.

“Oh and she ripped somebody’s arm off.”

When asked if his tiger jumped over a fence and attacked a neighbour as was rumoured, Tyson clarified: “No, that’s not what happened.

“Somebody jumped over my fence where the tiger was and jumped in their habitat and started playing with the tiger.

“And the tiger didn’t know the lady so it was a bad accident.

“She jumped in the property where the tiger was at.

“They tried to [sue me] until they found out she jumped over the fence and she trespassed the tiger.

“And listen, when I saw what the tiger did to her hand, I had a lot of money back then, so I gave her $250,000 or whatever it was.

“Because she was just f***ed up.”