Animals

Bizarre moment tiger pops its head out of the back of a car in Mexico


Tiger sticks its head out the back of a car

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This is the bizarre moment a tiger was filmed poking its head out of the back of a car as it was driven through a city in Mexico.

The footage was recorded by another motorist who was following behind on a motorway in Mazatlán, in the western state of Sinaloa, last Thursday.

It shows the big cat leaning out of the window and showing off its giant paws as the vehicle swings into a petrol station.

The owner, who has not been identified, even let the Bengal out for some fresh air while using a metal chain wrapped around its neck as a makeshift leash. But he struggled to keep it completely under control, with the tiger leaping up onto the bonnet at one point.

The owner even let the Bengal out for some fresh air (Picture: @xKelseyG/Newsflash)

Reacting to the clip, local animal rights group Animal Heroes criticised the lack of regulations around the wild animal trade in Mexico.

The group tweeted: ‘This is the result of the lax Mexican laws that allow animals like this tiger to be bought and sold like any other household pet.’

The Bengal tiger is native to India and among the biggest cats in the world, weighing up to 260kgs, or 573lbs.

The group launched a campaign against Mexico’s wild animal trade, urging others to get involved using the hashtag ‘WildAnimalsAreNotPets’.

The footage was shot by another motorist (Picture: @xKelseyG/Newsflash)

According to the Mexican Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), buying and selling wild species is not illegal as long as they are not taken from the wild.

The charity Big Cat Rescue has described the situation in Mexico as out of control with animals including jaguars, lions and tigers being bought and sold just like traditional pets.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the big cat as endangered and estimates there are as few as 2,500 left in the wild.

Animal Heroes said it believes there are even more of them being kept in Mexico.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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