A few weeks ago, police in Scotland received a strange call from an “extremely concerned” citizen. Bruce Grubb, a farmer who had just moved into a new home in the area, called to report sighting a tiger out in his shed, which housed around 200 of his pregnant cows, the Scottish Sun reports.
“Unusual as the call may have seemed, any call reporting a potential danger to the public has to be taken seriously and efforts were made to verify the sighting as soon as possible, including starting to make contact with the nearest wildlife park to make sure they did not have an escapee,” North East Police Division wrote on Facebook.
Videos by VICE
The cops reportedly sent in several units to the farm, including three cruisers full of armed officers and a dog handler to diffuse the situation with the massive feline. Grubb, who was having a housewarming party at the time, told the Sun that he and his guests weren’t the only ones freaking out about the fanged creature in his shed. A few officers who first showed up to the scene wouldn’t leave their cars, apparently terrified of getting taken out by the tiger—which happens a whole lot more than people think.
Eventually, armed officers from the North East Police Division surrounded the place and moved in on their target. But after a 45-minute standoff, they realized the fanged predator was actually just a stuffed animal and not a terrifying, bloodthirsty cat.
“I feel a bit silly for calling the police, but I thought it was a real emergency,” Grubb told the Sun. “I had absolutely no doubt it was real. I got a hell of a scare.”
There’s no word from police on who might’ve planted the plush tiger in Grubb’s shed, but it’s not unreasonable to assume some unruly guest at his house party decided to play a prank on the farmer. To be fair, Grubb isn’t the first person to call the cops over something totally innocuous. At least he didn’t lose his shit over a giant zucchini.
Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.
Follow Drew Schwartz on Twitter.
Related: A Rare Sumatran Tiger Was Born at the National Zoo
