Young Tiger Wanders the Streets of Houston
A nine-month old tiger named India was found wandering the streets of Houston, Texas on Saturday May 15th. The tiger was picked up by local authorities without harm to any humans or the tiger. India will hopefully be able to live out the rest of his days at Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas.
Police Commander Ron Borza said that India appeared to be in good health. An off-duty deputy almost shot India after understandably being startled from seeing a wild tiger in Texas. However, the deputy didn’t get the chance as someone else drove by and snatched India. A citywide search ensued. Eventually, a friend of India’s illegal owner tipped off the police. After that, the owners turned over the tiger to police without incident.
Black Beauty director Noelle Almrud arrived the morning of May 16th to take India to her new home. She said:
“Houston authorities did a remarkable job over the past several days to locate India and to ensure the safety of the public and the animal. Black Beauty Ranch will provide safe sanctuary for him and give him a proper diet, enrichment, an expansive naturally wooded habitat where he can safely roam and will provide everything else he needs to be the healthy wild tiger he deserves to be.”
The Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch is home to around 800 rescued animals – both domestic and exotic. The ranch is a permanent safe have for unwanted animals. India will not be the first tiger to call Black Beauty home. Loki is a tiger who joined the ranch in 2019. Just three months ago in February, Elsa from Bexar Country was relocated to Black Beauty Ranch as well. The ranch was founded in 1979 and is administered by the Fund for Animals while working closely with the Humane Society.
In fact, the Humane Society of the United States was also monitoring the situation with India. President and CEO Kitty Block said:
“We cannot have dangerous wild animals roaming neighborhoods or living in people’s homes. Forcing these animals to live under such conditions, confined and treated as a ‘pet’ is inhumane and a serious public safety risk - no matter how ‘cute’ or ‘tame’ the animal may seem.”
Block highlights that non-domesticated animals should not be pets. Big cats like India or Elsa are not pet-material with their unpredictable (but natural for wild tigers) behavior. Block used this situation to explain why she and the Human Society are lobbying for Congress to pass The Big Cat Public Safety Act. This bill would make illegal the owning of big cats, like tigers or lions, as pets. Block and other animal rights advocates state that this legislation would protect both human society and the wild cats.
Mitchell D. Cochran is a family life educator, a financial coach, and a board certified biblical counselor. He is the cofounder of Hope Initiative Consulting, LLC. and is currently attending Calvary University for his M.A. in biblical counseling. Mitchell is active in local politics in Lubbock, TX, where he lives with his wife, Katherine.
