(Image source from: FOX Carolina)

A marijuana user in Texas had an interesting and frantic experience while he was making an attempt to get into a cast off warehouse to find a quiet place to smoke his joint, instead he found a full-grown tiger.

According to Texas police, the ‘concerned citizen’ upon entering the premises came upon a tiger locked up in a cage and no one in sight. The man was interrogated if he was under the influence of the drug. But then, the answer was negative.

"We questioned them as to whether they were under the effects of the drugs or [whether] they actually saw a tiger," Jason Alderete, from Houston Police Department, told ABC-affiliate KTRK. The caller admitted he intended to smoke the joint in a quiet place but found the tiger instead.

While speaking to reporters, Texas police admitted that they at first thought the caller was under the influence of drugs or was making a hoax call. But when they reached the described location to look into, they did in fact find the tiger in a cage in the warehouse. The cage was not locked but its gate was tied up with a nylon rope. The tiger looked ailing with a few packets of meat in its cage.

While speaking to reporters, Texas police admitted that they initially thought the caller was under the influence of drugs or was making a hoax call. But when they reached the described place to investigate, they did indeed find the tiger in a cage in the warehouse. The cage was not locked but its gate was tied up with a nylon rope. The tiger looked unwell with a few packets of meat in its cage.

The police officers and then arranged for the tiger to be transported to an animal sanctuary. The tiger approximately weighed around 500 kgs and was identified as a female.

Officers said she did not have any apparent injuries but did seem dry.

Lara Cottingham, a spokeswoman for Houston’s animal control agency, said of the tiger: “She’s pretty large, so she doesn’t look underfed. She was thirsty.”

Texas police will now investigate how the large cat came to be in the Houston warehouse.

Since smoking weed is illegal in the state of Texas, the police might press charges of possessing narcotics against the person who reported the tiger.

-Sowmya Sangam