Tony the tiger has been caught. KRGV reports the Bengal tiger that spent nearly a week on the loose and almost made it to Texas was captured at midnight on Tuesday in the rural community of Los Longoria, according to the Reynosa Emergency Management and Fire department.
It was caught, uninjured, just south of Granjeno in Hidalgo County, officials said. Reynosa Mayor Carlos Peña Ortiz said the tiger will be taken to the Tamatán Zoo in Victoria, according to Chron.com, the digital site affiliated with the Houston Chronicle.
Chron.com reported last week that the Bengal tiger had absconded from a zoo on Wednesday in Reynosa, Mexico, and was last seen along the banks of the Rio Grande. The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office told local residents to be watchful after the tiger escaped from its enclosure at the Quinta La Fauna zoo.
“We have not been to assist Reynosa, but we have advised our deputies to remain vigilant,” Lt. Enrique Longoria, from the sheriff’s office, told CBS 4 News.
On its Facebook page, the zoo posted last Wednesday that it was closed until further notice. The Mexican newspaper El Financiero reported last week that zoo staff didn’t realize the adult tiger was missing until Wednesday morning, when they discovered the mesh to its enclosure was destroyed.
Yes, a tiger basically Shawshanked its way out of the zoo. But instead of meeting its pal on the beach, it was feared to be headed for Texas (as if Donald Trump needed another reason to yell about building a wall).
This was at least Texas’ second escaped tiger scare this year. You might remember in March, there was a viral picture of a tiger lying in water near some tall grass, which promptly terrified everyone. Turned out, it was a hoax.
Luckily, this tiger found its way to safety.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Sept. 10 to reflect that the tiger had been located and again on Sept. 12 to reflect the proper name of the news outlet from which we cited information — Chron.com.
