India the tiger was held at an animal shelter until he was picked up by officials from the sanctuary where he'll now live.
A tiger that had a Texas neighborhood shocked and scared after it got loose earlier this month will spend the rest of his days at an animal sanctuary.
The Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch came to collect 9-month-old India the tiger from Houston authorities and rescuers say a nice life awaits him.
“We are happy to take India back home to Black Beauty where he will be introduced to a half acre natural wooded habitat with a pool, trees, platform and a proper nutritious diet. Our goal is to provide him with the best quality of life for the rest of his life,” Noelle Almrud, Senior Director, Black Beauty Ranch, told CBS News.
The ranch is located in Murchison, Texas, southeast of Dallas, Madison.com reported.
The Black Beauty Ranch doesn’t just care for animals, it advocates for them.
The director used the opportunity to remind people that keeping tigers and other big cats in residential homes is a bad idea.
“These animals, while they are beautiful and majestic, they are wild. You cannot tame a tiger just by raising them from a baby it takes thousands of years to domesticate a species. So, while is playful at this age, as an adult he can be deadly,” Almrud said.
India was recorded roaming freely around the residential neighborhood and caused quite a panic. An intense search lasted about a week before he was found.
India was then turned over to authorities.
On Saturday, the Houston Police posted video of the Commander Ron Borza petting the tiger. “We got him and he his healthy," Borza said.
Later that same day, Borza held a press conference about getting the tiger and stressed “the animal likes attention but in no way shape or form should you have an animal like that in your household.”
The initial suspected owner of the tiger, Victor Cuevas, has been charged with evading police. His attorney said his client is not the owner of the tiger and was about to turn himself in. Cuevas had been out on bond for an unrelated 2017 murder charge. Cuevas says he acted in self-defense in connection to that incident and is innocent of the murder charge.
