When police in Scotland recently received a call from a panicked farmer informing them that a tiger had entered his cow shed, they immediately sprang into action fearing that a wild cat was on the loose.
Six cars, including an armed response unit, were deployed to the location in Peterhead in Aberdeenshire.
After a tense 45-minute standoff, the anti-climax was served. The beast turned out to be a stuffed toy.
Bruce Grubb, the 24-year-old farmer who had called the cops, told The Sun that his suspicions about the wild cat grew when he saw that it had not moved at all during the entire time.
The entire episode, he said, had left him feeling "very embarrassed".
"I had absolutely no doubt it was real — I got a hell of a scare. I was worried it was going to eat all my cows before police managed to shoot it," he said.
The cops, who had a "roaring shift" called the incident "a false call made with genuine good intent".
It's true - our officers had a roaring shift on Saturday night.. "Our ultimate aim is to protect the public and keep our officers safe when faced with uncertain situations. Until you know exactly what you are dealing with, every option has to be considered." pic.twitter.com/Wj5OPpay85
— NorthEastPolice (@NorthEPolice) February 6, 2018
In a statement, Peterhead Inspector George Cordiner said, "Unusual as the call may have seemed, any call reporting a potential danger to the public has to be taken seriously and efforts were made to verify the sighting as soon as possible, including starting to make contact with the nearest wildlife park to make sure they did not have an escapee."
He added, "Our ultimate aim is to protect the public and keep our officers safe when faced with uncertain situations. Until you know exactly what you are dealing with, every option has to be considered.
The mystery that remains is how the stuffed toy landed there in the first place.
Needless to say, people have been having a good laugh over the incident.
Padmaavat controversy in a nutshell pic.twitter.com/NWo9e15vbz
— Bollywood Gandu (@BollywoodGandu) February 8, 2018
If it was the u.s. they whould have shot it then planted a gun
— Scott hillman (@Carlial921) February 7, 2018
the stuffed Tiger has yet to comment on the crime and has refused all questions by the police
— Dante Milton (@DanteMiltonMD) February 7, 2018
Tiger Zinda (Nahi) Hai
— Eshaan Koshal (@eshaan_koshal) February 8, 2018
Hw did they actually realize it at d 45th minute??
— Vandhana (@mariavandhana) February 8, 2018
He's been spotted hiding out in Woking too! #TroublesomeTigerpic.twitter.com/89GeRjN5db
— WWF UK (@wwf_uk) February 6, 2018
45 minutes? Like, it took 45 minutes for someone to say “sir, hil nahi raha bilkul vaise”? https://t.co/VXc592gScL
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) February 8, 2018