The Bengal tiger that was seen loose in a Houston neighborhood last week, and has been missing since then, was found without visible damage and taken to a safe shelter, local authorities reported Saturday night.
"We are pleased to report that the missing tiger seen in a Houston neighborhood last week has been found and appears to be unharmed," Houston Police said in a tweet.
"The tiger has arrived safely at the Houston Animal Shelter and Adoption Center (BARC)."
The event went viral by a video captured and posted by a neighbor that shows the tiger walking on the porch of the owner's home in Houston.
An agent who was on his day off and is a resident of the area asked the owner to keep the animal.
In the images, a man identified as Víctor Hugo Cuevas, 26, is seen grabbing the feline by the neck to bring it into the house, while the policeman, who had been alerted to the event and had his weapon drawn, told him to reassure the animal.
Following this incident, Cuevas put the tiger in a white vehicle and fled for several hours until he was arrested last Monday morning, according to authorities.
Cuevas was charged with a felony for evading arrest, according to Houston Police.
Cuevas was arrested again Friday on a murder charge not related to the tiger, but to an event that occurred in 2017. A judge in Fort Bend County revoked the defendant's bail on that charge and raised it to $ 300,000, according to the Houston Chronicle newspaper.
The search to find the feline was intense:
police reviewed between 200 and 300 phone calls about the animal, which is a nine-month-old male named India.
Authorities also visited all businesses involved in the exotic animal trade in Houston, without success.
Cuevas has denied owning the cat.
In his Instagram account he is seen with a tiger, although his lawyer explained that those images do not prove that he owns the feline.
Tigers are not allowed within Houston city limits, unless the cat's keeper is licensed to keep exotic animals.
