Border residents still on lookout for tiger that escaped from Mexican zoo

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) -- Officials in South Texas and northern Mexico remain on the lookout for a tiger that escaped from a zoo in the Mexican border town of Reynosa last week.

The 220 pound female Bengal tiger escaped Wednesday from the Quinta La Fauna zoo in Reynosa, which remains closed, according to the zoo's Facebook page.

Zoo officials noticed the tiger was missing from its cage around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and say the mesh on the tiger's cage was destroyed, according to a news release by the Mexican government.

Local Mexican police officers as well as Mexican federal environmental protection officers, the national guard and representatives from the Tamatán Zoo, in Ciudad Victoria, are all working together south of the border to help locate the tiger.

The government says several residents have reported sighting the tiger, but officials have yet to spot it.

The area where it went missing has heavy vegetation and is near the Rio Grande.

"There are areas with a lot of vegetation, which makes it difficult to capture the tiger," government officials said in Spanish.

Tigers can swim up to 7 miles a day and can cross a 4-mile river. The Rio Grande is only 50 yards across in that area.

North of the border, local law enforcement have warned residents to be watchful, since the tiger could easily swim across the Rio Grande.

Over the weekend, there were several social media posts of reported sightings of the tiger north of the border especially near Mission, Texas. However, none was confirmed by law enforcement.

Border Report on Monday spoke with Mission Fire Department Chief Adrian Garcia who said they have not received any emergency calls regarding the tiger.

Bengal tigers are endangered species, with only about 4,500 living in the wild worldwide.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.