Tiger found on I-30 reunited with owner
Published: September 17, 2005
A tiger cub found Monday on Interstate 30 is safe at home in Bridgeport, Texas, after a brief adventure in the Texarkana area.
The 4-month-old male tiger was found about 7:30 a.m. Monday darting in and out of traffic near the Leary exit on Interstate 30. It was briefly kept at the Hooks animal shelter and was then taken to a tiger wildlife refuge in Tyler, Texas.
How the cub ended up on the interstate was a mystery until Thursday.
“We found the owner. The tiger actually made it home,” said Hooks Police Sgt. David Horn.
Horn said the tiger’s owner was driving through Bowie County on his way to the Dallas area when the animal escaped from a kennel in the back of the owner’s truck.
“The tiger jumped out while the truck was moving. They’re like regular cats and they land on their feet,” Horn said.
He said the owners passed through Bowie County about 1:30 a.m. Monday and did not realize the big cat was missing until they reached Dallas.
“They came back and looked all down I-30,” Horn said.
The owner eventually heard about a tiger being found in the Hooks area and how it had been taken to Tyler.
Horn said the owners of Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge in Tyler actually know the Bridgeport tiger owner and released the animal to him when he verified ownership through a microchip implanted in the animal.
Earlier Thursday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced they were offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the tiger cub.
It is illegal to keep wild animals as pets in Bowie County and a spokesman for PETA said it is never a good idea to keep wild animals as pets.
“Tigers are not stuffed toys,” said Debbie Leahy, PETA director. “Cute babies grow up to be unmanageable adults who are often relegated to cramped cages or dungeon-like basements or are simply abandoned.”
Tigers and other big cats are also popular in the exotic pet trade and with operators of roadside and traveling zoos.
Horn said Thursday he was in the process of contacting PETA to notify them the tiger’s owner had been located and would not be facing charges.
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