Ming of Harlem facts for kids
Ming's resting place in Hartsdale, NY
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| Species | Panthera tigris |
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| Breed | Siberian/Bengal (P. t. altaica/tigris) |
| Sex | Male |
| Born | February 2000 Racine, Minnesota, United States |
| Died | February 2019 Noah's Lost Ark Animal Sanctuary, Berlin Center, Ohio |
| Resting place | Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, Westchester County, New York |
| Known for | Residing in an apartment building in Harlem, New York |
| Owner |
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Ming was a tiger who became famous for a very unusual reason. In October 2003, he was found living in an apartment in Harlem, New York City, United States! Ming was about three years old when he was discovered. He lived with his owner, Antoine Yates, in a room of a large apartment on the fifth floor of a public housing building. Besides Ming, other regular and exotic pets were found in the apartment, including an alligator named Al in another bedroom.
After his discovery, Ming spent the rest of his life at Noah's Lost Ark Animal Sanctuary in Berlin Center, Ohio. Ming passed away from natural causes in February 2019 and was buried at the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
Contents
Ming's Story
How Ming Came to Be in Harlem
In April 2000, Antoine Yates, a 31-year-old taxicab driver from Harlem, New York City, bought Ming. Ming was an 8-week-old male tiger, a mix of Siberian and Bengal breeds. Yates purchased him from the BEARCAT Hollow Animal Park in Racine, Minnesota. Records showed that BEARCAT Hollow had previously sold a lion cub to Yates, but he had found another home for the lion shortly after getting Ming.
The Discovery of Ming
People found out about Ming after Yates went to the Harlem Hospital Center emergency room on September 30, 2003. He had bites on his arm and leg. At first, Yates said his pet pit bull had bitten him. However, the hospital staff were suspicious because the bite marks were too wide for a pit bull. They thought a much larger animal had bitten him. Later, Yates admitted he was bitten while trying to keep Ming away from Shadow, a cat he had recently adopted.
Yates left the hospital on October 3. The same day, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) received a tip and sent an officer to his apartment. The officer heard loud growling noises through the door and decided not to go inside. The NYPD's Technical Assistance Response Unit then drilled holes through a neighbor's walls. They used a camera on a pole to find Ming.
Another police officer, Martin Duffy, went to the roof. He used a rope to rappel down and look through the apartment's windows. Ming roared at Duffy! Duffy then used a rifle to fire a tranquilizer dart at Ming. The city's Chief Veterinarian, Dr. Robert Cook, had prepared the dart.
After being darted, Ming charged at the window, breaking it, then moved further into the apartment. Authorities waited several minutes for the sedative to work. An animal control team then entered Yates' apartment. Dr. Cook used a special pole and gave Ming another sedative shot. This was to make sure he stayed asleep during transport. It took more than six men to carry Ming down the elevator to a waiting truck. The team also found Al, a five-and-a-half-foot alligator, living in another bedroom! Yates was later found at a hospital in Philadelphia.
After Ming was discovered, neighbors were questioned. It turned out that many people in the building had known about the tiger for at least three years. It was almost like an urban legend. One interesting fact was that Yates regularly bought huge amounts of raw chicken from the local supermarket. It became a joke in the building that he could eat so much chicken every day. By 2003, Yates was feeding Ming about 20 pounds (9 kg) of chicken, livers, and bones every day. Yates also had roommates who didn't know about the animals at first. A woman who shared the apartment told the New York Daily News:
A woman who shared a Harlem apartment with a 425-pound tiger said yesterday she was terrified at first—but soon got used to living with the man-eater down the hall. Caroline Domingo told the Daily News she couldn't believe her eyes when she spotted the big cat roaming free in the apartment where she and her husband rented a room from tiger-owner Antoine Yates. [...] But eventually, she said, "We all became family."
What Happened Next
Yates was arrested for having a wild animal and for putting others at risk. His mother was also charged because she had been babysitting children in the apartment. To help reduce the charges against his mother, Yates admitted to putting others at risk. He spent five months in prison and was on probation for five years. He was released after three months. He later tried to sue New York City for the loss of his pets (including a rabbit) and for $7,000 cash he said was in the apartment. A judge dismissed the case.
Authorities decided to move the seized animals to better homes. Ming was sent to Noah's Lost Ark Animal Sanctuary in Berlin Center, Ohio. Al the alligator was given a new home in Indiana.
Ming in Media
Ming's unique story has been featured in several media projects:
- In October 2010, the story of Yates and Ming was shown on the Animal Planet TV show Fatal Attractions. The episode was called "A Tiger Loose in Harlem." It used a mix of re-creations and real footage, with comments from Yates, his family, and the police.
- Ming is also mentioned in the documentary film, The Tiger Next Door.
- A film titled Ming of Harlem: Twenty-One Storeys in the Air was shown at the New York Film Festival on October 3, 2014.
Images for kids
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Two of the five buildings in the Drew-Hamilton complex where Ming lived (2012)
