This police photo shows the toy tiger that sparked a
helicopter search near Southampton, England. (Hampshire
Constabulary/AP)
Police scrambled helicopters and ordered tranquilizers to hunt
what they feared was an escaped wild animal in southern England —
but found that the tiger was a toy.
Hampshire Police say they responded after several residents
called in to say they'd seen a white tiger in a field near a golf
course in Hedge End, near the English coastal city of
Southampton.
A tongue-in-cheek recorded message posted to the force's media
line said that after "a brief stalk through the Hedge End savannah
... it became obvious that the tiger was a stuffed, life-sized
toy."
A second message posted on Sunday emphasized police had a duty
to take such sightings seriously. As for the renegade tiger, "it's
being treated as lost property."
