NYPD Responds To Reports of Tiger on the Loose, Finds Raccoon Instead

Back in my Navy days, the New York City folks had a tendency to look at any of us from the South as country bumpkins. Well, I’ll admit that most parts of the South aren’t the Big Apple.

But our police don’t have to field calls like this:

We’re trying to confirm this report of a tiger loose in Upper Manhattan: https://t.co/CC91y9O4iP #CitizenAppNYC pic.twitter.com/1XR6ruODXq

— Citizen (@citizenapp) April 12, 2018

Now, don’t get me wrong, a tiger on the loose is serious business. That’s not something to play around with, and the NYPD apparently responded, ready to do battle.

Unfortunately, it seems an intrepid New Yorker made a mistake. You see, it turns out the animal on the lam was actually a raccoon:

Me: you got anything on a tiger in Washington Heights?
NYPD spokesman: not a tiger. it’s a raccoon.
Me: for real?
NYPD spokesman: dead serious. welcome to Thursday morning.

— Alex Silverman (@AlexSilverman) April 12, 2018

Now, I get that I’m a southern boy who spent a fair bit of time in the woods growing up, what with hunting, fishing, and camping on a lot of my weekends. Of course I know what a raccoon looks like, and I get that others might not recognize the critter.

But to mistake it for a tiger? Whoever made that call should probably be asked to pee in a cup when they show up for work. I’d be very surprised if that urine is clean.

The offending raccoon was reportedly captured and taken to the Animal Control Center. It wasn’t a happy ending for the little fellow.

“The raccoon was brought into our facility and was euthanized as required by law for all vector species animals brought into the shelter,” ACC said in a statement according to ABC News. “Raccoons, bats and skunks are classified as a rabies vector species, which means it’s an animal that can carry and transmit rabies.”