Police are hunting for a Texas woman who sold a live jaguar cub to a California man, who then re-sold the cat to someone else who abandoned it outside an animal rescue centre.
Trisha “Mimi” Denise Meyer, a 40-year-old self-described "exotic erotic zookeeper" based in Houston, was the first in a chain of owners that ultimately resulted in the jaguar cub's abandonment.
The Justice Department has charged Ms Meyer with four counts of interstate transportation of an endangered species in the course of commercial activity, the interstate sale of an endangered species, trafficking prohibited wildlife species and trafficking endangered species.
The charges represent violations of both the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act. Jaguars are a protected species under the former, and wildlife trafficking is prohibited under the latter.
In the spring of 2021, Ms Meyer allegedly sold Abdul Rahman — aka Manny Rahman, 34 — a jaguar cub. Before selling the cub, she allegedly posted photos of herself on Instagram with the animal. She allegedly agreed to sell the cub for $30,000, plus an additional $1,000 to move the cat from Texas to California. Ms Meyer had previously sold Mr Rahman a monkey, but he was disappointed when the marmoset he received was not a baby and acted “crazy,” court records show.
Mr Rahman kept the jaguar for two months before selling it for another $20,000 to another buyer, whom court documents only recognise as "H.G."
According to investigators this individual purchased the cat but was persuaded to give it up after a friend pointed out he was going to have a large predator living in the house with his soon-to-be newborn child. The owner reportedly "planned to kill" the cat, investigators said, but the friend convinced him to turn it over to a sanctuary.
The individual who raised concerns about the jaguar later removed it from the home with the help of his roommate and a large dog kennel. The men dropped the jaguar off outside an animal rescue just before 10pm on 17 September. They were spotted on surveillance video, which helped investigators track the men down for questioning.
The jaguar is currently living at an animal sanctuary in Alpine, California called "Lions, Tigers, & Bears." Bobbi Brink, the founder and director of the organisation, shared her opinion on the cub's former owners with The Daily Beast.
"These people are just idiots," she said. "And they don't care about the animals at all. It's all about the money."
This isn't Ms Meyer's first encounter with law enforcement over exotic animals — she has previously been arrested for allegedly housing three tigers and several "vicious" monkeys in a house she shared with her teenage daughter. She was charged with child endangerment, but took a plea deal — the investigation began when she was accused of scamming a man out of $3,00 — and avoided jail time after the case was deferred.
The Houston Chronicle reported at the time that a game warden witnessed Ms Meyer's daughter "petting and making physical contact with the tigers and making contact with her."
The monkeys living in the building had also reportedly attacked people in the past, police said.
The US Fish and Wildlife Services first began investigating Ms Meyer after the jaguar was found abandoned at the animal sanctuary.
Ms Brinks' staff members tracked down Instagram images of exotic "pet" owners posing with jaguars, which allowed her to compare the live cat's spots and whiskers to try to locate a match. Spot and whisker patterns are unique on individual jaguars and can be used by scientists when trying to definitively identify cats.
They found photos of a cub that appeared to match the jaguar that had been left at the facility, but those images did not reveal who sold the cat and how it made it to California.
Investigators were eventually able to link Ms Meyer and Mr Rahman after a woman who posted images of the jaguar on her TikTok spoke with police. She told investigators that she had been in a hotel room after a car show in April 2021 with Ms Meyer, Mr Rahman, and the jaguar cub.
The same woman saw Mr Rahman weeks later at another car show and saw Mr Rahman with the cub, noting that he "did not know how to take care of the jaguar and she gave him advice about how to care for and feed the jaguar."
Mr Rahman is also facing charges relating to the jaguar. He has been charged with interstate transportation of an endangered species in the course of commercial activity, trafficking prohibited wildlife species, and trafficking endangered species.
Ms Meyer is still on the run. If convicted, she could face up to eight years in federal prison and a $700,000 fine. Mr Rahman could face a maximum of seven years in federal prison and a $600,000 fine.
