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Knox news sentinel lettinga10/7/2023 ![]() While confirmed reports of large cats are very rare in Tennessee, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has removed a few exotic cats from residents who were illegally possessing them in the past, Cameron said. State law allows only zoos, circuses and "commercial propagators" with the proper permit to own a tiger. Personal ownership of a tiger is illegal in Tennessee. Mary Lynn Parker of Tiger Haven said the sanctuary has all its tigers, too. "A wildlife officer is actively looking for the animal at this time."Ĭameron said that officials have yet to confirm a tiger sighting, and if there is a tiger on the lam, they don't know where it came from.Īll the tigers at Zoo Knoxville are accounted for, according to zoo spokeswoman Tina Rolen. "A trap baited with chicken was set last night but was pulled this afternoon due to inactivity and the subsequent report of the cat a few miles away," Cameron wrote in an email Thursday afternoon. TWRA spokesman Matt Cameron said a second tiger sighting was reported after midnight near Thorngrove Pike, which winds along the river where the animal was first reported. On Thursday, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency took over the effort. ![]() In all, 15 to 20 people scoured the area until midnight without seeing the tiger, Glenn said. Authorities even deployed a helicopter to assist in the search. The animal control units of the sheriff's office and the Knoxville Police Department responded to the area along with Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers and Tiger Haven representatives. Wilson, who insisted he hadn't dozed off and dreamed the whole thing, reported the tiger to dispatch about 8:30 p.m., Glenn said. "After a brief moment of shock, he realized it really was a tiger," Glenn said. The deputy, Andy Wilson, was working a side job at a business in the industrial park when he reported seeing a large cat rise out of the French Broad River, cross the street and disappear into a dense wooded area, according to Knox County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kimberly Glenn.
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