ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia police shot and killed a Bengal tiger on Wednesday 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 6-year-old 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 146-year run, Payne said.
“They’ve been raised around people their entire lives, so they’re comfortable around people,” Payne said.