Tiger King's Carole Baskin on Loose Big Cat In Texas: Are People Spending Their Stimulus Checks on Tigers?

In what sounds like the leading question in a bad Jimmy Kimmel man-on-the-street sketch proving that Americans suck at geography, the question of “where's India," the name of a 9-month-old tiger that was spotted roaming around the west side of Houston, on Sunday has been captivating the east Texas metropolitan area, with the animal still at large as of Wednesday morning.

On Mother's Day, several residents of a suburban neighborhood were seemingly shocked to see a tiger wandering around several front yards in their area. "I had to pinch myself," Jose Ramos, 50, who witnessed the big cat told CNN. "Was this real?"

Allegedly the pet of Victor Hugo Cuevas, who was supposedly out on bond for a murder charge, the 26-year-old reportedly begged authorities to refrain from shooting India before leading the animal into his car, evading arrest, The Hill reported. Although he was ultimately caught, the tiger is still out on the loose. 

Amid the craziness, a wild saga which some have compared to the twists and turns of Tiger King, Big Cat Rescue founder and probable inventor of the phrase “hey there all you cool cats and kittens,” Carole Baskin sounded off on the absurd events and *checks notes* how everyone has been spending their stimmy?

"Well my first reaction was ‘oh my gosh, that’s Texas again for you' because this has been happening more frequently since Tiger King," Baskin told local Houston news outlet, KPRC-TV. “It really did make me wonder if people were spending their stimulus package checks on tigers because I didn't used to see this as often as I'm seeing it now."

After channeling her inner Suze Orman for the entire Houston metropolitan area, the Netflix star also shared a friendly reminder that despite their reputation for hyping up Frosted Flakes cereal and bouncing on their tail throughout Winnie the Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood abode, tigers can actually be pretty darn dangerous.

“Clearly somebody knows where this tiger is, and the best thing they can do is reach out to law enforcement and let them know,” the former Dancing With The Stars contestant explained to KHOU, another local station, noting that whoever was hiding the big cat was probably in danger. They always grow up to be who they are, which is apex killers," she continued. “It could easily have killed an adult and even more easily killed a child."

So folks, take it from the flower crown-enthusiast and apparent financial advisor, don't use your stimmy to buy yourself a pet tiger unless you want to quickly become a snack – and not in the “zoomer calling you hot” kinda way.

For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram @HuntressThompson_ on TikTok @HuntressThompson_, and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.