Police found Bengal Tiger after missing for nearly week

The tiger, named India, was first seen roaming around a Houston neighbourhood Sunday prowling outside a home.

The alleged owner of the Bengal tiger, Victor Hugo Cuevas, is behind the bars.

Victor, 26 was arrested for illegally owning the 9-month-old male Bengal Tiger whose name is India. However, his lawyer insisted that the tiger does not belong to Victor.

The police was already in search of the Bengal tiger who was reportedly roaming in the lawns and streets of a Texas neighbourhood. The apparent owner of the tiger fled away just before the police arrived at his home in Houston.

"The tiger portion of the investigation is continuing," Houston police tweeted after the arrest of 26-year-old Victor Hugo Cuevas, whose lawyer insisted the tiger does not belong to Cuevas.

Earlier, the drama began on Sunday evening when the tiger was seen walking calmly across front lawns in a neighbourhood in west Houston. The tiger was filmed— with one man pointing what appears to be a gun at the wild animal.

The big cat with a collar was roaming around the residential area on Ivy Wall Drive at about 8 p.m. when the unidentified, apparently armed man yells at another man to take the tiger inside, KHOU 11 reported.

Footage posted on Twitter shows a man pointing a gun at the animal and backing away as it slowly walks towards him. The man did not appear to fire any shots during the 40-second video of last night’s incident.

Apparently there's a tiger loose on my parents' West Houston street? pic.twitter.com/TgdIiPSPKx

— robwormald (@robwormald) May 10, 2021

In another video, a woman shelters inside her home while watching the standoff.

“A freaking Bengal tiger is roaming in this yard and this dude needs to be careful,” the woman says. “What the heck? Why is there a tiger?”

The apparent owner eventually grabs the tiger and brings it back inside his home, photos show.

Here's another angle. pic.twitter.com/bvl5g9kzYp

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) May 10, 2021

The incident was reported to the police. It was not immediately clear if any charges will be filed.