May 21, 2011
British police send chopper, tranquilizer guns to take down tiger
Police shut down a major highway, evacuated a golf course and dispatched a helicopter over a field near Southampton this weekend after reports that a huge white tiger was lurking in the weeds, The Telegraph reports.
Specialists from Marwell Zoo were on hand, armed with tranquilizer guns, the British newspaper reports.
The beast was clearly visible as the police force closed in.
Police surmised something was amiss when imaging equipment indicated that the "wild animal" wasn't giving off any heat.
The tiger then rolled over in the downdraft from the helicopter, pretty much confirming that it was in fact a life-size, stuffed toy tiger.
''It is being treated as lost property, but we don't know how it came to be in the field and whether it may have been a hoax,''a police spokeswoman says.
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11:28AM BST 22 May 2011
Toy tiger sparks armed police alert in Southampton
Police are today trying to trace the owner of a toy life-size tiger which sparked a major operation involving armed officers and a force helicopter.
Hampshire Police Video and Chief Inspector Interview - Telegraph
The alert was raised by several members of the public yesterday afternoon when they spotted what they believed to be a live white tiger in a field near Hedge End, Southampton, Hampshire.
The police helicopter was scrambled and a golf course cleared after police arrived at the scene and confirmed the sighting.
Armed police were called to the scene in case the animal came too close to members of the public.
Specialist staff from nearby Marwell Zoo also attended to advise and potentially tranquilise the wild animal.
A local golf course was evacuated and plans were put in place to close the nearby M27 motorway if necessary in case the tiger moved in that direction.
But as police officers carefully approached the ''wild animal'' they realised it was not moving and the helicopter crew, using thermal imaging equipment, realised there was no heat source coming from it.
A spokeswoman for the force said: ''After a brief stalk through the Hedge End savannah, the officer realised the tiger was not moving and the air support using their cameras realised there was a lack of heat source.
''The tiger then rolled over in the down draft and it was at that point it became obvious it was a stuffed life-size toy.
''This incident will definitely be the highlight of our day. The CCTV footage convinced us all we were dealing with a real tiger.
''It's not often an incident leaves our staff with a smile on their face and it just goes to show the diverse type of incident we are called to deal with.''
Releasing a photo of the toy tiger, a force spokeswoman said: ''The toy tiger is life-size and is like one that you would win at a fair.
''It is being treated as lost property but we don't know how it came to be in the field and whether it may have been a hoax.''
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2:17pm Wednesday 1st June 2011
Man behind stuffed tiger police raid comes forward
WHEN he picked up a cuddly toy from a rubbish heap to play a game with his dog, Kevin Blunden had no idea of the chaos it would cause.
Hours later, armed officers and a helicopter swooped on a field – convinced that a live tiger was on the loose in the Hampshire countryside.
The nearby golf course was evacuated, a game at the Rose Bowl cricket ground was temporarily abandoned and emergency services put in place plans to close part of the M27 in case the ‘beast’ spotted near Charles Watts Way, Hedge End, wandered on to the motorway.
Now Mr Blunden, 53, from Exford Drive, Harefield, has admitted it was him that inadvertently sparked the massive police operation after picking up the abandoned toy from a derelict garage to play a game with his five-year-old border collie-cross Saski.
He said: “I was walking past some derelict garages where people dump rubbish and saw that in there, with some loft insulation, was this tiger.
“I thought it would be fun to play with my dog with it, so I drove down to the field in Hedge End.
“I was chucking it around and she was sniffing it and running away again.
“I was out there for some time, but got bored after a while and just left it there. I didn’t think any more about it.”
The father-of-three has since been hailed a hero on an Internet group called “The Legend who put a Stuffed Toy Tiger in Hedge End”, which has attracted more than 9,000 members.
Reports about the cuddly toy have gone round the globe and the story was even featured on BBC comedy panel show Have I Got News For You.
But Mr Blunden says he’s ‘embarrassed’ about what happened and thinks the police response was over the top.
He said: “When I saw it on the rubbish pile, I didn’t think ‘oh my God, that’s a real Siberian tiger’.
“They could have just thrown a stone or a stick at it to see if it moved – you could see it wasn’t real.
“When I heard what had happened I was terrified that I was going to get in trouble for it. I went round to some friends for a barbecue this weekend and all of them were saying, ‘you’re a legend’ as though I was some kind of hero.
“I find it quite embarrassing actually.”
Hampshire Police say the tiger is still in one of their found property stores since it was recovered on May 21.
A spokesman said: “We have to retain it for six weeks before we can do anything with it.
“Until that period of time has elapsed, we cannot confirm what will happen to the toy.”
Police were last night unable to confirm whether any further action would be taken against Mr Blunden.
