Border patrol agents in Texas, US found a tiger cub inside a duffel bag back in April. The agents rescued the cub while patrolling along the Rio Grande near Brownsville.
The young tiger has finally found a new home in an animal sanctuary in Wylie, Texas. It was sent there last Thursday.
The cub was abandoned by animal smugglers who were spotted by the border patrol agents; they fled once they realized they had been seen, but dropped the duffel bag.
The two-month-old tiger was unconscious when the agents unzipped the bag, according to US Customs and Border Protection. The young tiger had been dehydrated and sedated.
"NOT an average day in the field, as Brownsville Border Patrol Agents rescue a tiger!” twitted Irma Chapa, communications director for Rio Grande Valley border patrol.
NOT an average day in the field, as Brownsville Border Patrol Agents rescue a tiger! Updates to come.@CBPRGV pic.twitter.com/Q8OFlJc8VZ
— Irma Chapa (@chapa_irma) April 30, 2018
This cub was extremely lucky, but it is just one of the hundreds of tigers subjected to the illegal wildlife trade.
Tigers are only found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The illegal animal trade is booming, according to National Geography. As a result more people are smuggling animals across the border from Mexico.