So What Happens to That Tiger Russell Brand Gave Katy Perry as a Wedding Gift?

Her other wild animal isn't prowling around the divorcing couple's house, but here's what's up with Machli

By Leslie Gornstein Jan 11, 2012 3:00 AMTags
Panthera, Katy Perry John Shearer/Getty Images ;Tim Graham/Getty Images

Didn't Russell Brand give Katy Perry a tiger as a gift? What will become of the animal?
—Silent and Close, Connecticut, via the inbox

You speak of Machli, the female tiger that reportedly fell into Katy Perry's care as a wedding bonus from soon-to-be-ex Russell Brand. Here's what I can tell you...

First the facts, er, reports. Team Perry wouldn't tell us for sure, but at the time of her wedding, several outlets said that Brand did indeed gift Perry with a wild animal.

But if that's the case, there was never a tiger running around their Sunset Strip mansion. There was no Siegfried & Roy disaster waiting to happen.

Perry junkies will recall that she and Brand married at the Ranthambore National Park in India. That park is a tiger reserve.

According to OK! magazine, Machli was "presented" as a gift to Perry at the time, but the tiger lived at this reserve at would continue to live there. Brand, in turn, would pay for some of the tiger's care.

For the record, there does indeed appear to be an aging tiger named Machli living a Ranthambore. The cat apparently inspires quite a bit of worship in certain quarters and is even a bit famous, for a tiger.

Conclusion: If Brand really did make a gift of Machli, it was likely more symbolic than real, and the Hollywood divorce lawyers (probably) won't have to face it down.