SAN ANTONIO — Authorities in San Antonio seized a bobcat and a tiger cub from a home and took a 25-year-old man into custody.
According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Jeremy Martinez was arrested Tuesday afternoon, KENS-TV reported. According to the sheriff’s office, there was a 5-year-old bobcat and a 13-week-old tiger cub in the residence, the television station reported.
The animals were turned over to the San Antonio Zoo, KSAT reported. According to the zoo’s animal care and veterinarian staff, both cats are in poor condition, most likely caused by malnutrition and poor general care, zoo officials said in a news release.
This is the third tiger sighting in San Antonio and Bexar County in the last six weeks, KSAT reported.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the Netflix documentary “Tiger King” may have sparked the rise of wild animals in homes.
“Illegal animal trafficking is a global problem, and obviously San Antonio is not immune to this,” San Antonio Zoo President and CEO Tim Morrow said in a statement. “We’re grateful to Sheriff Salazar, his officers, Animal Care Services, and San Antonio Police for their work on these cases and for aggressively prosecuting those committing animal cruelty in our community.”
Salazar said Martinez was not necessarily the owner of the animals but just had them in custody, KABB reported. The sheriff added that Martinez is facing charges for previous warrants and could have charges filed against him in this case “soon,” the television station reported.
Deputies said they found the bobcat and tiger cub after a neighbor called authorities, KABB reported. A woman who answered the door told deputies that the bobcat was in the home, was trained and was “fine.”
However, a deputy saw paws sticking out from a door and asked about them.
“(He) asked, ‘What’s that?’ and she said, ‘Well, that’s a tiger,’” Salazar told reporters.
Salazar said tigers could grow to several hundred pounds.
“People need to use their brain and and realize not only is it dangerous, not only is it extremely irresponsible, it’s illegal,” Salazar told reporters.