But he had one other consolation - he sold the animal to Wombwell's menagerie for the the same amount where it was exhibited as "The Tiger that Swallowed the Boy".
In February Lee won his second best director Oscar for his 3D film Life of Pi, based on the Booker-winning novel about a shipwrecked boy and a Bengal tiger.
Aside from best director, the 3D film - based on the Booker-winning novel about a shipwrecked boy and a Bengal tiger - won awards for cinematography, score and visual effects.
Ang Lee won his second Oscar for directing Life of Pi, the adaptation of Yann Martel's fantasy novel about a boy stranded in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.
On a starry night 55 years ago, deep in a remote forest of northern India, a 4-year-old boy nicknamed "sher baccha" (Hindi for "tiger cub") rode safely in the arms of his father, who carried him into the moist air.