Escaped circus tiger shot dead by Georgia police

aTlanTa: Georgia police shot and killed a Bengal tiger after it escaped from a truck and wandered along a major interstate near Atlanta, frightening residents of a nearby subdivision.

Feld Entertainment spokesman Stephen Payne said Suzy, a sixyearold Bengal tiger that had once performed in the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, somehow got loose when the truck hauling 14 big cats stopped south of Atlanta on its way from Florida to Tennessee.

“We stopped in Georgia to feed and water the cats and for a quick rest break for the driver, and that’s where we believe the animal escaped and was later confronted by law enforcement,” Payne said.

Suzy was headed back to its European owner, animal handler Alexander Lacey, after the circus this year ended its 146year run, Payne said.

Motorists spotted the tiger early Wednesday along Interstate 75 in Stockbridge, southeast of Atlanta, Henry County police said.

The cat ended up in a subdivision, where it began chasing a dog, police said.

The tiger jumped on the dog – a Dachshund named Journey, its owner Brittney Speck told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The dog survived the attack and is fine, she said.

The cat was shot after it “became aggressive toward pets in the area”, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said in a statement late Wednesday.

Payne said he didn’t know how the tiger managed to get free midway through the trip to Tennessee, and didn’t have many details of its encounter with police.

The driver did not realise one of the animals had gotten loose during the night until the truck arrived in Tennessee, he said. — AP