Oops! its a toy tiger

May 23, 2011 |

IANS

London

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A life-size toy tiger in Hampshire in England sparked a major operation involving armed officers and a helicopter, a media report said on Sunday.

Local residents raised an alarm on Saturday afternoon when they spotted what they believed to be a live white tiger in a field near Hedge End, Southampton, Hampshire.

A police helicopter was scrambled and a golf course cleared after police arrived at the scene and confirmed the sighting, The Sun reported.

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 arrived at the scene to tranquilise the animal if needed.

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 police spokeswoman 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 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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