Sunday, May 22, 2011

Escaped 'tiger' in field - helicopter scrambled but police find stuffed toy




Spot the tiger: Picture: Hollingsworth, John and Karen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.







POLICE scrambled a helicopter with thermal imaging equipment after reports of a tiger in a field at Edge End, Hampshire, yesterday afternoon.

A member of the public spotted the 'big cat' through a telephoto lens and a team of officers was sent to investigate. They, too, concluded that it was a tiger.

Reinforcements were sent and a zoo consulted on how to capture the creature.

Yet, thermal imaging revealed no body heat and the 'tiger' simply rolled over in the downdraft from the helicopter.

A police spokesman said: "Everyone who saw it thought it was a real tiger."

There aren't many tigers in Hampshire, so mistaking a cuddly toy for the real thing is, I suppose, understandable.

METRO STORY

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