This happened in the town that my son goes to college in.
Police shoot, kill escaped tiger
Animal fled from owners at B-N truck stop
By Megan Hopper
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- A Bengal tiger weighing approximately 390 pounds was shot and killed Saturday after escaping from a trailer at the Travelcenters of America truck stop in Bloomington.
The 2-year-old, 8-foot-long male tiger named Tigger was reported missing at about 5 a.m. Saturday when it got away from its owner at the truck stop at the junction of Interstate 55/74 and Market Street in Bloomington.
The owner of the tiger, Mary Jeanne Williams, 44, of Ivanhoe, Texas, was traveling with her son, John Bryan Johnson, 19, with the animal, Bloomington police said. The tiger apparently escaped as Johnson was trying to give it some water.
Officers from Bloomington, Normal, the McLean County Sheriff's Department, and Illinois State Police and members of the Bloomington Fire Department, set up a perimeter around the truck stop to try to locate the tiger, according to Duane Moss, media relations specialist for Bloomington police. Miller Park Zoo employees also were on hand.
A state police helicopter, a bloodhound and a Bloomington Fire Department ladder truck helped officials find the tiger and trap it in the brush line next to Travel America.
Andy Schickle brought his scent-discriminating bloodhound to the scene to help in the search. Schickle said the dog was able to help locate the tiger after smelling its pillow to get its scent.
After locating the tiger, officials tried for several hours to tranquilize it but were not successful, said Bloomington police Assistant Chief Kevin Livingston. Bloomington-Normal veterinarian Matt Fraker and Miller Park Zoo director John Tobias assisted with the attempts at tranquilizing the animal.
According to Moss, authorities also attempted to use an animal capture gun brought in from the Glen Oak Zoo in Peoria, but it malfunctioned.
After the animal advanced along a fence toward officers positioned to stop its movement, the tiger was shot and killed.
Livingston said he believed the animal had been shot twice but did not know which agency was responsible.
"It did not end the way we had hoped it would end," he said.
Fraker, a veterinarian at the Prairie Oak Veterinary Center, said they had no choice but to shoot the tiger because 20 seconds after it was shot with a blow gun it jumped up onto a Department of Conservation truck.
Bloomington police had an excellent organizational plan, Fraker said, and restrained from shooting the tiger when it was running around.
"The reason why this was so drawn out is because of the BPD's patience to get the tiger out," he added.
Fraker said he has never had a positive experience with tigers and feels they should not be privately owned.
"Some people might think it's cool to own an animal like this, but this is not cool, so don't do it," he added.
Tim and Cindy Lee of Bloomington heard of the tiger on the loose Saturday morning and went to Travel America to see what was going on.
Tim, who heard the tiger roar several times, said, "Oh, you hear it, and it just makes the hair on your arm stand up. When it roars, it's something and everybody scatters, even the policemen with guns."
Moss said no charges were being filed against Williams or Johnson but added that the case would be referred to federal authorities for further review of possible transportation regulation violations.
Police shoot, kill escaped tiger
Animal fled from owners at B-N truck stop
By Megan Hopper
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- A Bengal tiger weighing approximately 390 pounds was shot and killed Saturday after escaping from a trailer at the Travelcenters of America truck stop in Bloomington.
The 2-year-old, 8-foot-long male tiger named Tigger was reported missing at about 5 a.m. Saturday when it got away from its owner at the truck stop at the junction of Interstate 55/74 and Market Street in Bloomington.
The owner of the tiger, Mary Jeanne Williams, 44, of Ivanhoe, Texas, was traveling with her son, John Bryan Johnson, 19, with the animal, Bloomington police said. The tiger apparently escaped as Johnson was trying to give it some water.
Officers from Bloomington, Normal, the McLean County Sheriff's Department, and Illinois State Police and members of the Bloomington Fire Department, set up a perimeter around the truck stop to try to locate the tiger, according to Duane Moss, media relations specialist for Bloomington police. Miller Park Zoo employees also were on hand.
A state police helicopter, a bloodhound and a Bloomington Fire Department ladder truck helped officials find the tiger and trap it in the brush line next to Travel America.
Andy Schickle brought his scent-discriminating bloodhound to the scene to help in the search. Schickle said the dog was able to help locate the tiger after smelling its pillow to get its scent.
After locating the tiger, officials tried for several hours to tranquilize it but were not successful, said Bloomington police Assistant Chief Kevin Livingston. Bloomington-Normal veterinarian Matt Fraker and Miller Park Zoo director John Tobias assisted with the attempts at tranquilizing the animal.
According to Moss, authorities also attempted to use an animal capture gun brought in from the Glen Oak Zoo in Peoria, but it malfunctioned.
After the animal advanced along a fence toward officers positioned to stop its movement, the tiger was shot and killed.
Livingston said he believed the animal had been shot twice but did not know which agency was responsible.
"It did not end the way we had hoped it would end," he said.
Fraker, a veterinarian at the Prairie Oak Veterinary Center, said they had no choice but to shoot the tiger because 20 seconds after it was shot with a blow gun it jumped up onto a Department of Conservation truck.
Bloomington police had an excellent organizational plan, Fraker said, and restrained from shooting the tiger when it was running around.
"The reason why this was so drawn out is because of the BPD's patience to get the tiger out," he added.
Fraker said he has never had a positive experience with tigers and feels they should not be privately owned.
"Some people might think it's cool to own an animal like this, but this is not cool, so don't do it," he added.
Tim and Cindy Lee of Bloomington heard of the tiger on the loose Saturday morning and went to Travel America to see what was going on.
Tim, who heard the tiger roar several times, said, "Oh, you hear it, and it just makes the hair on your arm stand up. When it roars, it's something and everybody scatters, even the policemen with guns."
Moss said no charges were being filed against Williams or Johnson but added that the case would be referred to federal authorities for further review of possible transportation regulation violations.
