Armed police and a helicopter were scouring the Kent countryside for a big cat on the loose following a call from a member of the public, only to find a model tiger made of chicken wire and resin in the woodland of an 85-year-old sculptor.
Juliet Simpson, who made the lifesize sculpture 20 years ago, was first alerted to the situation when a neighbour rang saying police were following up reports of a wild cat near her house in the village of Underriver.
“My son Duncan rang up and said there were armed police on the hill leading up to my house,” Simpson said. “Ten of them! By then I could see the helicopter above, and I thought, goodness me. So then I walked up the road and saw the police Land Rover. I went up and said: ‘Do you want to be introduced to this tiger?’”
The tiger has never worried walkers using the footpath, which is about 30 metres away, says Simpson. “There have been dogs who have been alarmed by it but no serious fears. Some people may have had a moment of thinking it’s a real tiger.” One police officer speculated that escapee tigers were on the public’s mind following the widely watched Netflix series Tiger King about big cat ownership in the US.
Simpson said the police officers were there for 10 or 20 minutes. “They liked the model and said they thought it was very lifelike. They said they had to respond to people’s concerns.”
She added: “So many people have so little real knowledge of how animals behave in the countryside. Any escaped cat of any sort would be in a state of terror, and would not be basking in the sun, amiably looking up at the nearest footpath.”
Simpson had made the tiger planning to sell it, but changed her mind. “When I put him in the wood he sort of owned it, and soon became a landmark,” she said.
Phil Broad, who manages land near Simpson’s house, said: “We had armed response and a helicopter here. I rang up the local police community support officer myself and said: ‘What’s going on?’ and he said: ‘There are armed officers looking for this tiger.’ I said: ‘I believe it’s a model in the woods.’ They were seriously looking for it – very bizarre.”
Kent police confirmed they were called to Mote Road in Ightham at 10.23am on Saturday morning after a report from a member of public who had seen “a large wild cat”.
A spokesperson said: “Officers, including armed officers, attended as a precaution and, following a search of the area, have established there was no animal and no risk to the public. The national police air service did briefly attend the scene.”
