Tiger captured after escape from Fla. sanctuary
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — In a part of the country better known for missing alligators, officials locked down schools and warned residents to stay inside Wednesday until they captured a Bengal tiger that somehow escaped from its cage at an animal sanctuary.
The tiger was tranquilized and captured on the grounds of McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary by 11 a.m. Wednesday, said a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. It escaped sometime late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
The sanctuary is about 20 miles northwest of West Palm Beach, not far from “Tarzan” actor Steve Sipek’s home, where a 600-pound tiger named Bobo escaped in 2004. A wildlife officer shot and killed it, causing a public outcry.
A person who answered the phone at the McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary on Wednesday declined comment.
A lion also escaped overnight from the sanctuary, which houses about 90 animals, including six tigers, five cougars and five leopards. It was quickly captured.
Officials are looking into several possible factors, including high winds from Tropical Storm Fay, that might have allowed the animals to escape.
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