Tiger Still Elusive; Houston Cops Think Traders Are Harboring Her

HOUSTON, TX — The Bengal tiger named India who unwittingly alerted Houston police to a murder suspect accused of violating the terms of his bail continued to elude authorities Friday.

Houston police Cmdr. Ron Borza told reporters Friday police have received hundreds of calls about the whereabouts of India, and that he believes she has been passed around a dozen or more times since Sunday by people involved in the illegal exotic animals trade.

“We’ve gone to a few locations here in Houston, and we have not had any luck finding the tiger yet,” he said.

This tale of a tiger out on a stroll was bizarre enough before Victor Cuevas, 26, loaded the big cat in his SUV and sped away from police investigating the unusual sighting Sunday, according to reports.

Cuevas, accused in a 2017 killing, violated the conditions of his bail multiple times, according to court records. He now also faces a charge of evading arrest, and prosecutors asked a Fort Bend County judge Friday to revoke his bail. A new $300,000 bond was set.

• Related: Tiger Strolling Along Houston Street Spotted By Off-Duty Deputy

Also Friday, “Tiger King” star Carole Baskin offered a $5,000 reward to help find the big cat. The Big Cat Rescue founder told KHOU that whoever has India is potentially in danger because “they always grow up to be who they are, which is apex killers.”

“Clearly,” Baskin said, “somebody knows where this tiger is, and the best thing they can do is reach out to law enforcement and let them know.”

Noelle Almrud, the senior director of the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Athens, Texas, and chairs a Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance steering committee, told KHOU that India is probably being kept indoors.

"If the tiger were out on the street, which I seriously doubt he is, he would probably try to hide, find a spot where he's hidden because that's what most wildlife do to feel protected," Almrud said. "So, there's no telling, you know, where he could go."

Authorities aren’t clear on whether Cuevas owns the tiger or was babysitting it, news station KHOU reported. It’s illegal in Houston for a person or entity other than an accredited zoo to possess a tiger. It’s a Class C misdemeanor violation of a city ordinance, punishable by a maximum fine of $500.

“I believe he bought it from a female here in Houston that we've dealt with before with exotic animals, but I'm not sure,” Borza said at the news conference. “I don't know if he was just looking after the tiger or actually purchased it, because a lot of times when we're going after people dealing in exotic animals, they start passing the animal from house to house with people that are involved in this trade.”

During Friday’s court hearing, Waller County Deputy Wes Manion said that when he confronted Cuevas on Sunday night after seeing reports of the tiger on social media, Cuevas said India was his. A photo of Cuevas kissing the tiger was introduced as evidence.

Cuevas’ attorney, Michael Elliott, told reporters Friday that India doesn’t belong to Cuevas, but that he loved the tiger and treated her well. After the hearing, Elliott told reporters that India had been returned to her owner.

“India was taken to the owner of the cat,” he said. “And it’s the owner who we are looking for.”

Although local statutes may apply, as they do in Houston, it’s not illegal to own a tiger or other dangerous animal in Texas. The state statute does require the owner to carry at least $100,000 in liability insurance, register the animal as dangerous with local and state health authorities, and adhere to strict caging requirements.

News station KVUE investigated the number of dangerous animals registered across Texas counties. They have been issued in Bastrop, Collin, Comal, Guadalupe, Kaufman and Potter counties, and include:

• Tigers: 60
• Lions: 17
• Cougars: 11
• Leopards: 11
• Bobcats: 16
• Jaguars: 3
• Cheetahs: 2
• Lynx: 1
• Bears: 9
• Servals: 5
• Chimpanzees: 4
• Hyenas: 4

Federal law is silent on the private ownership of tigers and other big cats, though a bipartisan bill in Congress, the Big Cat Public Safety Act, would outlaw private ownership of and profiting off the sale of tigers and other felines.

Sanctuaries, universities and zoos are exempt from the proposed legislation, which would also bar private individuals from possessing lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, cougars or any hybrid of those felines.

The bill would also outlaw “pay-to-play” operations that charge people to pet, play with or have their photos taken with cubs of those species.