14 DAY TRIAL // Police officers in Saudi Arabia are now doing their best to locate and rescue a tiger, a leopard and a jaguar stolen from a breeding farm owned by a 54-year-old wildlife enthusiast by the name of Ibrahim Al Osaimi.
The felines are estimated to be worth about £100,000 (approximately €135,000 / $154,000). Otherwise put, whoever stole them sure knew what they were doing.
How does one steal three seriously oversized cats?
It is understood that the folks who broke into 54-year-old Ibrahim Al Osaimi's breeding farm and stole the tiger, the jaguar and the leopard came prepared for this mission.
Thus, police officers say that, once inside the farm, they first smashed security cameras to make sure that they would not be filmed stealing the cats. They also disabled the alarm.
Since oversized felines of this kind are not exactly people-friendly or willing to go for surprise joyrides with complete strangers, the burglars sedated them before breaking into their enclosures and taking them.
The officers handling this case say that, after the burglary was reported and they were sent to have a look at the scene of the crime, they found empty syringes lying on the floor of the cats' cages.
Hence, they suspect that the burglars used dart guns to knock the animals unconscious before entering their enclosures, wrapping them neatly in blankets and making away with them.
The police don't seem to have any leads
As mentioned, an investigation into this rather peculiar incident is now ongoing. Police officers are not very keen to share whatever information they have with the public, and some say that this is because they don't have any solid leads.
In an interview with the press, 54-year-old Ibrahim Al Osaimi explained that the tiger, the jaguar and the leopard were most likely stolen to order. “The were very rare, especially the tiger. They were all trained to make them tame and perfect pets,” he said, as cited by Daily Mail.
Apparently, there are plenty of rich people in Saudi Arabia who love and adore keeping such exotic animals as pets, just to show people how cool they are. Yes, leopards, tigers and jaguars are still in danger of going extinct.