Video Captures a Bengal Tiger Roaming a Texas Suburban Neighborhood

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Sunday evenings in the quiet suburbs of Texas are usually uneventful. It’s not unusual for visitors to turn up and they are very welcome – but this one caused total panic. A Bengal tiger (yes, a tiger) was spotted prowling around. This is a sight that you don’t want to miss so check out the shocking clip at the top of this post.

Bengal Tiger Visits the Neighborhood

The A&E YouTube channel shared this clip. They aim to share “high-quality, thought provoking original” content and this certainly ticks the boxes. At the beginning of the video, we get a view from one of the local houses. This smart Houston suburb has neatly trimmed front lawns, assorted parked vehicles and…a Bengal tiger striding casually along the street. The neighborhood group chat is on fire as the residents feverishly message each other. Everyone wants to know where this big cat has come from.

A woman dials 911 and waits for help to arrive but help may be closer than she thinks! An off-duty sheriff’s deputy tries to hold back the tiger at gunpoint. The animal welfare organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have a list of incidents involving big cats in the US since 1980. Not all of these involved tigers but they did result in the deaths of 25 humans and the injury of a further 290. This guy is taking a risk!

An Escaped Pet Tiger

As the tension rises, a second man appears claiming to be the tiger’s owner. He manages to entice the tiger into his vehicle and drives away. When the police catch up with him they find out that this was a nine-month-old tiger who was being kept illegally at a local house. She was called ‘India’ and the police took her to a new, more suitable, home at a wildlife rescue center.  Black Beauty Ranch is run by the Humane Society of the United States. They explain that four US states “do not currently have laws on keeping dangerous wild animals as pets” These states are Alabama, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.

Are Tiger Numbers Decreasing?

According to The World Wildlife Fund, there is some good news about tigers. After 100 years of declining numbers, wild populations are beginning to recover. Tiger numbers in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Russia, and China are increasing or are at least stable. However, they still need a lot of help. Tiger populations in much of Southeast Asia are declining and are in crisis. The illegal trade in tigers, like the one resulting in the incident in the clip above, is not helping!