Roy Horn had a stroke after the attack by a male white tiger
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Illusionist Roy Horn, who was attacked by a tiger during a show in Las Vegas in October, is making a slow recovery, according to his stage partner.
"He is moving now, little by little," Siegfried Fischbacher told TV network NBC. "[He's] speaking a few words."
Fischbacher has played down Horn's injuries, describing the wound as "a little punch hole" and claiming the tiger was trying to help his partner.
He blamed the stroke suffered afterward by Horn on blood pressure medication.
Horn, part of the famous Siegfried and Roy act, was reported to have had a part of his skull removed shortly after the attack to relieve pressure on the brain.
Fischbacher said the 59-year-old had now been off his respirator for a fortnight and would be well enough to spend Christmas in Las Vegas.
"I think he's going to recover everything," he said. "I have no doubt."
Horn is currently being treated at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, having been transferred from University Medical Center in Las Vegas.
Dragged
He was mauled by the male white tiger during a show at the Mirage resort in Las Vegas on 3 October.
The cat, a seven-year-old white tiger called Montecore, grabbed Horn by the neck and dragged him off stage.
Animal experts have disputed Fischbacher's suggestion that the creature was trying to help his stage partner after he slipped.
One-Minute World News
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I think he's going to recover everything
