Not quite. The stripes, yeah, the snatches? Nah.<\/p>\n
But that’s not the important part of the story. A Bengal tiger has been padding around Houston, Texas, which — if I remember correctly — is a major American city. Give or take serious flooding.<\/a><\/p>\n And although the tiger’s…uh…comrade has been nabbed (he is allegedly a murderer), the tiger has not.<\/p>\n In other words, there’s a Bengal tiger on the loose in Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n A few relevant excerpts from the Times article are:<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone with information on the tiger is urged to contact HPD Major Offenders,\u201d the police said in a tweet.<\/em><\/p>\n Not clear, though. Is the tiger a Major Offender? Still…<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, if you see a Cherokee <\/em>[vehicle] with a big tiger in it, it would be good to call us,\u201d Ronald Borza, a commander with the Houston Police Department, said at a news conference on Monday afternoon before Mr. Cuevas <\/em>[the tiger’s pal, owner of the Cherokee] was taken into custody.<\/em><\/p>\n Mr. Cuevas’s lawyer disputes the description of Mr. Cuevas as the tiger’s owner.<\/p>\n He said that he could not elaborate on Mr. Cuevas\u2019s connection to the animal.<\/em><\/p>\n Well, that<\/em> clears things up.<\/p>\n Let’s get back to Commander Borza, who seems to have a sense of humor:<\/p>\n \u201cYou never know when that animal is going to turn on you,\u201d Commander Borza said. \u201cWe had plenty of neighbors out here with guns.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Uh, I’d be worried about the neighbors with guns turning on me; the tiger apparently can take care of itself.<\/p>\n Not so the emergency dispatcher:<\/p>\n Jose Ramos, who lives next door to the home where the tiger was spotted, said that he called 911 after seeing the exotic animal, the television station KPRC reported<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI mean, I couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d Mr. Ramos said.<\/em><\/p>\n The emergency dispatcher wasn\u2019t exactly sure how to handle the situation, he said. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWho do you want us to send? The police, the Fire Department, you know, the priest?\u201d Mr. Ramos said the dispatcher told him.<\/em><\/p>\n I suspect Mr. Ramos pressed a few too many buttons on his phone and wound up with a New York City emergency dispatcher. I mean, the bon mot<\/em>?<\/p>\n P.S. Did I mention that as of yesterday the tiger was still free from the eyes of Texas?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Not quite. The stripes, yeah, the snatches? Nah. But that’s not the important part of the story. A Bengal tiger has been padding around Houston, Texas, which — if I remember correctly — is a major American city. Give or … Continue reading