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(HOUSTON) When Maria Torres and her sister-in-law got an emergency notification on the Nextdoor app Sunday night, they had to do a double-take: it said a tiger was on the loose on a nearby Houston neighborhood.
Instead of staying in the house with their doors locked, the two women went on an impromptu safari. We got in the car and went to check it out, Torres told ABC News on Monday.
When they reached Ivy Wall Drive in west Houston, they could barely believe their eyes. Torres took out her cell phone and started recording several people confronting a striped Bengal tiger, including an off-duty law enforcement officer back-peddling with his gun aimed at big cat.
First Posted: May 10, 2021 11:11 PM EDT
Photo : Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
The Houston Police Department said that a tiger was seen roaming around a Houston neighborhood on Sunday.
Neighbors and passersby had also seen the tiger and they were terrified. The animal was reported to be wearing a collar and walking outside of a home.
An off-duty officer encountered the tiger. The encounter was recorded on video by a neighbor. The sheriff s deputy was seen pointing a gun at the tiger as the animal slowly walks toward him, NBC News reported.
The tiger s owner then went out and said not to shoot the animal. He then took the animal inside the home. One neighbor said that the owner came up to the tiger and leaned down to kiss the tiger. The tiger owner then took the animal by the collar, according to a KPRC 2 News report.
Loose tiger could be around corner unless laws change, PETA says KTRK
Some quick facts:
About a century ago, 50,000 - 80,000 tigers roamed India alone.
Tigers are classified as endangered. It s estimated that only 3,500 tigers remain in the wild worldwide.
Experts say there may never be as many tigers as there were a century ago.
Tigers are not native to North America but are found in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, China, Malaysia, Russia, Nepal and Myanmar, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
As TigerGate and Tiger in Houston trended on Twitter, people wanted to know, how did this happen? Another question that popped up often was regarding the laws surrounding ownership of exotic animals in Texas, especially since this is far from the first time a tiger has gotten loose.
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A resident of a west Houston neighborhood on Sunday night reported a loose Bengal tiger lying in a front yard in May 2021.OnScene TVShow MoreShow Less
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A resident of a west Houston neighborhood on Sunday night reported a loose Bengal tiger lying in a front yard in May 2021.OnScene TVShow MoreShow Less
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A resident of a west Houston neighborhood on Sunday night reported a loose Bengal tiger lying in a front yard in May 2021.OnScene TVShow MoreShow Less
4of10Houston Police Commander Ronald Borza enters the backyard of the house where a tiger escaped from last night before it was found roaming on the 1100 block of Ivy Wall Drive, on Monday, May 10, 2021, in Houston.Godofredo A. Vásquez/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
Man who fled police with tiger arrested after high-speed pursuit
Man with tiger arrested after high-speed chase with police
Replay Video UP NEXT When Maria Torres and her sister-in-law got an emergency notification on the Nextdoor app Sunday night, they had to do a double-take. It said a tiger was on the loose in a nearby Houston neighborhood. Instead of staying in the house with their doors locked, the two women went on an impromptu safari. We got in the car and went to check it out, Torres told ABC News on Monday. When they reached Ivy Wall Drive in west Houston, they could barely believe their eyes. Torres took out her cell phone and started recording several people confronting a striped Bengal tiger, including an off-duty law enforcement officer backpedaling with his gun aimed at the big cat.