Question:
Officials kill tiger in L.A. suburb
By Laura Wides
Associated Press
Published February 24, 2005

LOS ANGELES -- Authorities shot and killed a male tiger Wednesday that had been roaming the hills near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
The 425-pound cat was shot several hundred yards from soccer and baseball fields at the edge of a housing development, said Lorna Bernard, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game.
"It's unfortunate that we had to kill it," Bernard said. "It's even more unfortunate that the person who owned it didn't come forward and alert us immediately. We might have been able to capture it."
Trackers had to shoot to kill because a tranquilizer would have taken five to 10 minutes to bring down the animal, Bernard said. They were concerned the animal might attack them or bolt onto a nearby highway. The animal was killed near Simi Valley, about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Authorities received a call just after 6 a.m. from a resident who reported the tiger strolling past his back fence. He said his children took pictures from inside their home.
Ken Tucker told KCBS-TV that the tiger walked to a nearby house and "was just staring down" the neighbor's dogs.
The trackers had been looking for the animal for eight days, using infrared equipment at night. They had set traps with goat meat and chicken.
The hunt began after the discovery of paw prints on a ranch near the library that were far too large for native bobcats or mountain lions. The size of the tracks indicated the animal weighed as much as 600 pounds.
Bernard said the owner could have told authorities about the tiger's temperament and eating habits, which might have helped them catch the animal sooner.
As the cat roamed the hills, it became hungrier and disoriented, making it more dangerous to the nearby community of horse ranches and sprawling homes, authorities said.
They said they were investigating how the cat got loose in the hills.
"Obviously we'll be looking at all the facilities in the area that housed big cats," Bernard said.
Two weeks ago authorities removed nearly two dozen large cats, including lions and tigers, from property not far from the library, Bernard said. All the animals inspectors found on the property were accounted for, she said.
Courtesy of The Chicago Tribune




Answer:
That's so sad. It's owners like that that give responsible pet owners (yes, even large cat owners) a bad reputation.

Granted I don't know every tactic they tried, but why not try luring the animal into an enclosure, then using tranquilizers?


Answer:
If the tiger was roaming around for 8 days, then why not wait another 5-10 minutes? I've seen large animals shot with tranquilizer darts on TV and they go down in a few minutes. I don't believe it would take 5-10 minutes. I think their excuse to shoot the tiger is bogus. They were just too lazy to try to help save a member of an endangered species.


Answer:
I believe it was done in haste. The news even said the tiger wasn't a threat towards other animals or humans. It didn't show any signs of agression! That idiot owner should be put in jail! Things like this really, really, tick me off!


Answer:
Poor tiger! That owner should be put in jail or be charged with animal neglect if anything...It is the owner's fault that the tiger was killed! :mad:


Answer:
so have they found the owner yet? Poor kitty!!!


Answer:
I don't think anyone of us can say that the authorities acted in haste. It is their job to protect the public and if the tiger had of ran onto the highway or charged them, someone could have been killed. They had been tracking the tiger for 8 days.. they had set traps but it didn't work.. they say the tiger was hungry and disoriented.. I think they did the right thing.
The poll in the other thread about whether Big Cats should be kept as pets.. I said NO WAY! This is exactly the reason.. If the owner of this tiger was responsible he would have reported it but I believe that the owner is probably someone that was not prepared or equipped to deal with a full grown tiger... got in way over his head so just let it go.. OR he wasn't allowed to have it in the first place and when it accidently got loose he was afraid of getting in huge trouble..
I don't think anyone except professionals (like Zoos and Sactuaries) should be allowed to keep them.


Answer:
Sigh, I saw the story on our local news. I know that they were just trying to protect people, but authorities are pretty quick to shoot down big cats around here. Usually this happens with mountain lions that are hanging around homes. Its really sad that it happens so often, but there are so many homes in the hills where the cats live. I know this was different because it was a tiger that had been kept as a pet. Ugh, people are stupid to have tigers as pets.


Answer:
That's so sad. I can't understand why they couldn't wait 5 - 10 minutes for a tranq to take effect. If he'd been wandering around for eight days or more without killing or harming any people or animals, surely they could've waited another 5 - 10 minutes. I hope they find the big-time loser that had him in the first place, and prosecute the life out of him!


Answer:
Grr! That owner should be shot I agree, they waited 8 days but couldn't wait another 10 minutes?