Police in hunt for suspected tiger on loose in countryside after big cat spotted

04 January 2023 , 14:37

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It was thought that the animal could have been caged as an exotic pet by a local (Image: Supplied)

Police are on the hunt for a suspected white tiger thought to have escaped from a cage and now rampaging through the wild.

Footage of what is thought to be a big cat roaming at the edge of a forest has sparked panic with fears the animal could cause harm to residents of the British Overseas Territory in Gibraltar.

It is feared that what could be a pet cat caught on camera from a distance, could also be an escaped tiger.

It was thought that the animal could have been caged as an exotic pet by a local.

A video taken from across a field shows a white four-legged animal with its tail up in the air slowly tread through undergrowth at the edge of a forest.

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The Guardia Civil has deployed a team tasked with tracking the cat down (Supplied)

GBC News shared the 19 minute-long content on its YouTube channel on Tuesday and has since been viewed 1,600 times.

Miguel Alconchel, the mayor of Los Barrios where the clip was filmed, has confirmed the sighting is not a hoax.

He added it was possible someone had lost a predator sadly caged as an exotic pet in the area.

The Guardia Civil has now deployed a team tasked with tracking the cat down.

Miguel Alconchel, the mayor of Los Barrios, has confirmed the sighting is not a hoax (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Over on Facebook, the GBC News report has been shared by Angry People In Local Newspapers, attracting plenty of sceptical comments.

One cynic joked: "Ah yes, must be one of those 12 inch white Bengal tigers."

"I've never seen a photo that's more clearly, definitively of a cat," a second commented.

Another said: "Stripes or no stripes would settle this one."

In November, parts of South Wales were left gripped with fear after a ‘big cat’ was spotted eerily stalking a hillside close to a housing estate.

Locals have since spoken about their own "experiences" in the area, claiming to have been finding strange remains of animals.

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One concerned local said: “I’ve heard of big cats being spotted around the South Wales area for a good few years now. I have friends and family who swear they have seen them."

Charles Wade-Palmer