A 25-year-old was arrested Monday in Phoenix, Ariz., after advertising a tiger cub on social media.
“This little guy is not the only one earning his stripes,” said the Phoenix Police Department with a video of the cub.
Police identified the offender as Carlos Alcaraz. Per the department, he was “booked on possession of live wildlife & game and fish violations after advertising the cub on social media.”
Patrol also “negotiated the sale of the cub and served a warrant,” the department said. According to 13 News, undercover officers were offered a “reduced price” of $20,000 for the cub.
They went to Alcaraz’s home on Carson Road. There, the officers also discovered an American alligator and a dozen snapping turtles that were seized as well.
“You could hear the tiger in the background moaning. You can hear that something wasn’t normal,” said Sgt. Brian Bower with Phoenix police, 13 News reported. “We don’t know if there’s a bigger ring for exotic animals.
This is definitely just the tip of the iceberg as a potential, but our detectives will look into it and will want to identify if there’s a larger scheme behind this.”
Alcaraz was arrested and booked into the Maricopa County jail on felony wildlife offenses, 13 News said.
According to court paperwork, cited by the outlet, “he told officers he purchased the tiger cub last week for $8,000 from another Arizona man,” and claimed that he bought it because he felt bad that the man wasn’t taking care of the animal.
As of Tuesday, the animals found at Alcaraz’s home had been turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department.
“According to the Arizona code for Game and Fish, there’s a long list of animals that are illegal to own unless you have the proper licenses or permits, said 13 News. “Some obvious ones are big cats, alligators and crocodiles, bears, and large primates. But some odd and obscure illegal pets on the list are weasels, European hedgehogs, new world porcupines, spider monkeys, woodchucks, sloths, armadillos, Gila monsters, and piranhas.”
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