John Varty 'still in a lot of pain'

Cape Town - John Varty, the South African documentary filmmaker who was attacked by a tiger at his Tiger Canyons farm on Wednesday, is out of the operating theatre and recovering in the ICU at the Mediclinic Bloemfontein.

Eyewitness News reports that Varty's brother Dave said "he came out of theatre at five this morning and is now recovering well".

Varty reportedly suffered several puncture wounds and two broken ribs.

Still serious

Mediclinic spokesperson Amanda Appelgryn told Channel24 that although Varty's condition is still serious, he is conscious and recovering.

"We are sedating him as he is still in a lot of pain," said Appelgryn.

"I don't want to speculate but he will probably be in ICU for at least a week.

"In cases like these it's very easy to get an infection," Appelgryn told Channel24.

John Varty is orginially from Johannesburg and is an expert in the rehabilitation of tigers, cheetahs, lions and leopards.

Although South Africa is not home to tigers, Varty set up the experimental reserve near the small town of Philippolis about 10 years ago with the aim of eventually returning cats to Asia.

Varty also founded the luxury Londolozi Game Reserve in the private Sabi Sands Game Reserve, which shares an unfenced border with the Kruger National Park.

Varty co-wrote, produced and starred in the 1992 Hollywood feature film Running Wild, which also starred Brooke Shields and Martin Sheen.