‘Very Nice’ Tiger Roams The Streets Of Conroe, Texas: Nala Escaped Handlers After Flood

Police in Conroe started receiving unusual calls Thursday around noon as residents of a subdivision in the southeast Texas town said a tiger was wandering around the neighborhood.

Mindi Mayfield from the Conroe Animal Control told CNN that the authorities didn’t believe it at first.

“I’m thinking it’s going to be a normal house cat. And I get out there and it’s a tiger.”

The young, female tiger was about five-months-old. Named Nala, the animal had her front claws removed, and she had a “very nice” disposition. And though police know who she belongs to, the potentially dangerous animal hasn’t been reunited with her owner yet.

In fact, he may be in a bit of trouble.

Conroe is 40 miles north of Houston and is considered a suburb, Dallas Morning News reported. Calls started flooding in at about 11 a.m., all of them making the same stunning claim. The loose tiger was seen wandering around the Water Crest subdivision, but CNN reported that it was seen in the Coral Cove Pass subdivision.

Among those who saw the tiger was a young couple who will likely never forget the experience. According to the Houston Chronicle, Jonathan Gessner, 19, saw the tiger crouching in the bushes in Conroe while he and his girlfriend, Erin Poole, were driving around the neighborhood.

At first, they were scared, according to Click2Houston.

Despite that, Erin told KTRK that her boyfriend hopped out of the car, telling her, “I’m going to go catch it.” She was scared it was going to attack him. Gessner said that as he approached, the tiger started to shake its bum. Erin called it a pouncing position.

A little voice told him to run away, but a much louder one told him to stick around and see what would happen.

What happened was completely unexpected, he said.

“When it started running toward me and it jumped on me and started licking me in the face, I started playing with it and petting it and everything. I thought it was pretty cool.”

https://www.facebook.com/219509524743402/photos/pcb.1264430066918004/1264427840251560/

He said the tiger acted more like a dog than anything else.

After this incredible encounter, Conroe police captured the tiger and brought her to an animal shelter. A few simple clues explained the young tiger’s docile, friendly behavior. Nala was wearing a collar attached to a leash, and she had clearly been trained.

Police posted photos on Facebook in an attempt to track down the owner and solved the mystery only 24 hours later.

Conroe Police Sgt. Kevin Johnson said the tiger was evacuated from a rescue farm in a neighboring county due to severe flooding in the area. The handler gave the animal to someone in Conroe ill-prepared to care for the wild animal. Nala escaped and ended up roaming a subdivision and licking strangers.

Although they know where it belongs, the animal has not been returned, and the suspects who kept it as a pet haven’t been identified. When they are, they could be fined for not have the right permits. Conroe has an ordinance banning “dangerous animals” within city limits. The county lets people own dangerous animals if they have a certificate of registration from the animal control authority.

In other words, if the tiger lived in Conroe before the incident, it can’t stay there anymore.

A man who identified himself only as Cody said that the tiger is named Nala and is “very nice.” He’s claiming “sort of” ownership, KTRK reported.

“We dropped her off at a friend’s and I don’t really know how she got out,” he said.

Earlier this month, a less-deadly creature wrestled away from its handlers to run the streets and stun local residents. The Inquisitr reported that a bull named Frank, on his way to a slaughterhouse, made a break for it in Queens. He ended up being saved by Jon Stewart.

[Photo via Facebook]