The tiger used in the hit movie Life of Pi nearly drowned in an on-set accident that was subsequently covered up by the American Humane Association, according to new allegations.

''Last week we almost f---ing killed King in the water tank,'' association monitor Gina Johnson wrote in an email. ''This one take with him went really bad and he got lost trying to swim to the side. Damn near drowned.''

The revelations come in an extensive investigation of the treatment of animals in the film industry published by The Hollywood Reporter.