The Bengal tiger that had escaped last week from a Reynosa zoo, close to the U.S.-Mexico border, was finally captured. The 220 pound animal was found on the Mexican side border and was unharmed, according to Reynosa Mayor Carlos Peña Ortiz.
"Following an extensive search and a series of attacks to nearby animals, authorities placed three cages in the area to make the capture without any harm to the animal," reads a passage of the publication, posted on the Reynosa government Facebook page. Another post shows a tiger in a cage lying down on a truck.
According to Border Report, the tiger was captured in Los Longoria, a border community across from Granjeño, Texas. Authorities said the tiger is in good health and will be taken to the Victoria City Zoo, where it will receive appropriate care.
The female tiger had escaped from the Quinta La Fauna zoo, located in the Tamaulipas city, last Wednesday. U.S. authorities were concerned about the chance that the animal would cross the Rio Grande into the country, as it is less than 50 yards across from Reynosa to Hidalgo, Texas and crossing a river is no hard task for an adult tiger.
Besides being powerful hunters with sharp teeth and strong jaws, tigers are excellent swimmers. Helped by their large webbed paws and muscular bodies, tigers have been recorded to swim up to seven miles in a single day.
Tigers hunt primarily at night, using sight and sound to identify prey. These powerful cats hunt about once a week and consume as much as 75 pounds of food in one night. The animal was found at night after traps were set up in areas with high vegetation on the southern banks of the Rio Grande.
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