TPWD Stepped In When They Saw a Tiger For Sale On Facebook

Last year, the Houston Chronicle wrote that Texas has the second largest tiger population in the world after India due to so many people purchasing the powerful animals as pets. “Most of them are undocumented. Estimates put Texas’ tiger population up to a few thousand,” the news explained.

The allure of owning a tiger is too great for some Texans to resist, and even though the law allows people to own tigers, that certainly doesn’t mean that many people should. According to KRGV, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office recently worked together to obtain a tiger from someone they felt wasn’t properly taking care of the animal.

Robin Zayas of The Animal Advocates of Edinburg first contacted the TPWD after she saw a post on Facebook of someone trying to sell the five-month-old animal. It was soon discovered that even though this person said they had the correct paperwork, the “…Hidalgo County has an order in accordance with the Texas Health and Safety Code 822 prohibiting wild animals.” The beautiful creature was taken to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville where it is now being taken care of. According to a zoo official, this is the 11th tiger the zoo has taken in over the past decade, and many people don’t realize how large and mighty adult tigers become.