Tiger Sightings in Puyallup Spark Police Search, Twitter Updates

Pierce County -- and Twitter -- were buzzing with reports of a tiger on the loose in Puyallup Thursday.

A man called 9-11 to report he saw a tiger in his back yard on the 4400 block of Gay Road, according to Pierce County Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer.

Shortly after, another 9-11 call came in. Same street, same tiger.

As more residents got wind of the report, someone placed a stuff tiger on top of a van on River Road, prompting several 9-11 calls, Troyer said.

Someone started a Twitter feed @Puyallup_Tiger, with the bio "Roaming the streets, lookin for eats and walking on my feets..."

@Puyallup_Tiger has been tweeting about his romp in Puyallup ever since.

Here are a couple funny ones:

Hope I don't go to gig harbor... I got no cash for the toll on the way back.

Starting to smell something.... Getting close to Tacoma I think.

Paws too big for this phone. #tigerproblems

For some reason the nicest people I've came upon where the ones at the smokeshop.

While Metro Animal Services and the Pierce County Sheriff's office had to take the matter seriously, it doesn't mean they didn't have a little fun with it, too.

Ed Troyer posted the above photo on his Facebook page, with the caption:

I found the tiger waiting on the hood of my car. He doesn't like cameras and wanted a ride home.

Troyer said there are no known tiger owners in the area, and no officer has seen the animal.