0:48
- ABC News
- February 13, 2019
Marijuana smoker finds tiger in abandoned home
The tiger seemed to be friendly when authorities came to visit.
0:48
Houston Police and a representative from BARC, Houston's animal shelter and enforcement division, were dispatched to the house, and animal control officers could hear and smell a tiger, Lara Cottingham, a spokesperson for BARC told ABC News. After obtaining a warrant, officials entered the property where they found a caged tiger in the garage.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/tiger-found-in-home-01-ktrk-jc-190212_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
The tiger seemed to be friendly and wasn’t growling, Cottingham told ABC News.
Packages of meat were also found, according to Houston ABC affiliate KTRK.
Animal control tranquilized the animal in order to move it, and a horse trailer was used to transport the animal to the BARC shelter, where it spent the night.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/tiger-found-in-home-02-ktrk-jc-190212_hpEmbed_16x9_384.jpg\")
The tiger appeared to be in good health, according to officials, and is scheduled to be assessed further.
While this is not the first instance of a tiger being found in a U.S. urban area, it is fairly rare.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/houston-tiger-found-01-ht-jc-190212_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
“This is not a pet, this is a wild animal,” Cottingham told ABC.
It is illegal to own a tiger within the Houston city limits, Smith confirmed with ABC.
TIGER ON THE MOVE: Watch as @BARC_Houston crews use a forklift to transfer a tiger from one trailer to another. The tiger was found in a Houston home. It’s now heading to a new location. https://t.co/9oWbC2WnCE pic.twitter.com/w1z1KrWs1L
— Nick Natario (@NickABC13) February 12, 2019
The tiger was transported Tuesday to a facility in Texas that is able to support such an animal.
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