A French couple paid 6,000 euros (£5,450) to buy a 'Savannah cat'.
However, they got the shock of their life when they discovered what they received was a tiger cub. The couple from the port city of Le Havre, Normandy, ordered the kitten through an online ad and paid for it on delivery. They did not notice that the pet is not a kitten but a Sumatran tiger. On realizing the same, they immediately contacted the police and reported the issue.
The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) is a protected species of big cat and is prohibited for private ownership. The Savannah, on the other hand, can be accepted as a pet. According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) a tiger cannot even be transported without paperwork.
After the case has come to the light, the couple and 9 other suspects have been arrested for trafficking of protected species. While others who were involved in this incident are facing the charge of being involved in organised crime. According to a report published by Daily Mail, the investigation took two years to find out about where the tiger came from. However, the tiger was seen in the Normandy region – on selfies in Elbeuf and even in a rap video filmed in Petit-Quevilly in the Seine-Maritime department.
According to the France Bleu- a local radio station in France, the cub is in good health and was handed over to the French Biodiversity Office, however, the location was not revealed.
A Savannah cat is the largest among cat breeds. It is a cross between a domestic cat and a serval, a medium-sized, large-eared wild African cat. The International Cat Association (TICA) accepted it as a new registered breed in 2001. It was accepted as a championship breed by TICA in May 2012.