A farmer in Peterhead, Scotland called the local police after he spotted a fearsome tiger on his land. As you don’t want to mess with the huge cats, North East Police instantly sprung into action, leading to a 45-minute armed stand-off with the fearsome beast. It was believed the tiger may have escaped from a nearby wildlife park, but it turned out to be a cat of a different stripe altogether.

Housewarming party goes wrong when tiger spotted

Farmer Bruce Grubb only moved into the cottage on his farm three weeks ago and on the night the incident happened had invited friends around for a housewarming party.

However the Saturday night party went awry after the cat was spotted on his land. Grubb called the police after spotting the tiger on his farm, which he said was laying on a ramp leading into his barn. The Scottish Sun quotes Grubb as saying he had gotten the fright of his life when he spotted the crouching animal.

North East Police immediately sent out several vehicles to Grubb’s farm, along with an armed response team. As reported by the BBC, officials also got in touch with a wildlife park close by to ask them if they might have a Big Cat on the loose. Officers then had a 45-minute standoff with the tiger until they eventually realized the cat was merely a huge stuffed toy. It even had a seam running down its back.

Speaking to the BBC, Inspector George Cordinor of the North East Police said he was impressed with the way the officers handled the tricky situation and went on to reassure the public that the farmer was no prankster. Cordinor said their ultimate aim is to both protect the public and ensure their officers are safe when faced with unusual situations like this.

He said until officers know just what they are dealing with, all options must be considered. He appreciated that while the call turned out to be false it had been made by the farmer with good intent.

Facebook pokes fun at red-faced cops

However, the North East Police couldn’t resist heading to their Facebook page a couple of days after the incident, saying their officers had experienced a “roaring shift” Saturday night.

They weren’t alone, as another Facebook page, UK Cop Humour also had fun over the incident. A series of photos of people dressed in tiger suits were posted to their page including one who could have been sent out to the incident as a “negotiator.”

One Facebook user, Si Kitchener, had fun by commenting that the farmer had lauded the police officers by saying, “they’re grrrreat.” The perpetrator who played the prank on the farmer is currently unknown.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED