A tiger in a zoo (illustration). – Krick, Jens / action press / SIPA
After the bobcat in North Carolina, here is a tiger in Texas. A feline was seen on Sunday in suburbs of Houston, quietly lying on a lawn then strolling down the street before being taken by a man to a house. Monday night, the police announced to have stopped the alleged owner of the animal. But the tiger, which is actively sought, remains so far untraceable.
Apparently there’s a tiger loose on my parents’ West Houston street? pic.twitter.com/TgdIiPSPKx
– robwormald (@robwormald) May 10, 2021
Victor Hugo Cuevas, 26, was on parole in a murder case. It is him that we see in the viral video filmed by a neighbor grabbing the animal by its collar then taking it inside while a neighbor police officer, who was not on duty, had put in play the animal. “I didn’t want to shoot him at all. He didn’t look very aggressive, ”he told local channel KHOU.
More tigers in captivity in the United States than in the wild in the world
Victor Cuevas’ lawyer asserts, however, that the tiger does not belong to him, without further clarification. Authorities hope to capture the tiger alive and hand it over to one of the local shelters.
The Netflix Series Tiger king has raised awareness of this captive wildlife problem in Oklahoma, but the problem also exists in Texas, where the practice is allowed as long as you have a permit and keep the animal locked up. However, owning a tiger as a pet is prohibited by the City of Houston.
According to estimates from conservation associations, there are as many as 7,000 tigers in captivity in the United States. This is almost double the total wild population of this endangered species.