Missing Tiger That Was Seen Roaming Around Houston Has Been Found

The 9-month-old tiger “appears to be in very good health,” police said.

An off-duty sheriff’s deputy confronts the tiger that was seen roaming a West Houston community on May 9, 2021. | Twitter / @robwormald
An off-duty sheriff’s deputy confronts the tiger that was seen roaming a West Houston community on May 9, 2021. | Twitter / @robwormald

India, the 9-month-old tiger that was missing for a week in Houston, is in the care of an animal sanctuary as of Sunday. 

“Black Beauty Ranch will provide safe sanctuary for him and give him a proper diet, enrichment, an expansive naturally wooded habitat where he can safely roam and will provide everything else he needs to be the healthy wild tiger he deserves to be,” Noelle Almrud, the sanctuary’s senior director, said to the Associated Press.

Houston Police Commander Ron Borza said Saturday that Victor Hugo Cuevas and his wife, Giorgiana Cuevas, owned the tiger, which is illegal in Houston. Borza said Giorgiana handed India to police on Saturday before the tiger was transferred over to BARC, the city’s animal shelter. Commander Borza said India “appears to be in very good health.” An investigation is ongoing and no charges have been pressed, Borza added.

When did this all start?

Jose Ramos, a resident of the Houston neighborhood where the tiger was first spotted, told local media he saw the animal walking across the street from his home just after 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 9. Ramos called the police and also posted to a “neighborhood blog” about the tiger’s presence, according to KHOU 11. An off-duty Waller County sheriff’s deputy identified by various outlets as Wes Manion saw the post and went to the street where the tiger was spotted. Video footage shows Manion pointing his gun at the tiger before Victor Hugo Cuevas comes out of a home. (Cueva’s lawyer confirmed the man ushering the tiger was him, while denying he owns the tiger.) Manion then told Cuevas to “put your tiger inside,” according to a different video of the scene.

Cuevas then said, “We’re with the zoo.”

“I don’t give a f*ck,” Manion screams. “Put your tiger back inside.”

“I will. I am, I am,” Cuevas said as he directs the tiger back inside the home.

By the time HPD officers came to the home, Cuevas had driven away with the tiger, police said. On Monday, May 10, police arrested Cuevas and charged him with evading arrest and detention with a vehicle, according to Fort Bend County Jail records.

“There was a brief pursuit, and the man got away with the tiger,” Houston Police Department (HPD) commander Ron Borza said at a news conference on May 10.

By Monday night, Houston police said they had Cuevas in custody hours after announcing their search in progress. When police arrested Cuevas, they said the tiger’s whereabouts were “not yet known,” setting off a weeklong search.

Cuevas’ lawyer said during a news conference after the arrest that his client doesn’t own the tiger and that “there’s no evidence” he drove away with it.

“He doesn’t even have a white SUV,” Michael Elliot told reporters on May 10. “I don’t know who drove away with the tiger. I don’t know who has the tiger.”

By Saturday, when the tiger was recovered, Elliot maintained that Victor Hugo Cuevas “was not the primary owner of India,” according to the Associated Press.

Cuevas had been out on bond for a 2017 murder charge when he was arrested in connection with India, according to multiple outlets. Cuevas was released on bond related to the most recent charge on Wednesday. But a judge on Friday revoked Cuevas’ bond related to the murder charge, and he is currently in jail.

This story has been updated to reflect new information about India’s whereabouts.