Houston's famous missing tiger, India, growing at Texas shelter

Houston’s famous tiger, India, continues to progress after being recovered by police last year. The roughly 1-year-and-a-half-old big cat has grown from roughly 130 pounds to 250.

MURCHISON, Texas - Houston’s famous tiger, India, continues to progress after being recovered by police last year.

In May 2021, cell phone video showed India wandering through a West Houston neighborhood. The tiger was reported missing before being located a few days later and transported to the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch.

"We just like to take care of them," said Christi Gilbreth, a senior caregiver at Black Beauty Ranch. "[We] give them everything they need to live a long happy life, but most importantly [allow them] to be a tiger."

On Tuesday, Victor Cuevas was sentenced to 18 years in prison for a 2017 murder in Fort Bend County.

In 2021, Cuevas and his attorney insisted that the tiger didn’t belong to him. However, the 27-year-old shared videos of himself with India on social media showing the tiger rolling around on the floor and playing tug of war with Cuevas in a seemingly empty living room.

MORE: 'It's Victor's tiger,' HPD says wild animal belongs to man whose attorney denied ownership

In a since-deleted Instagram post, Cuevas called India his best friend.

"Being in a house he probably wouldn’t have the muscle development he needed," said Gilbreth. "I think he would have gotten a lot more agitated. He would have taken that out on his owner. I think we would have heard of a person being attacked by his tiger."

According to Gilbreth, India’s health has improved over the last year. The roughly 1-year-and-a-half-old tiger has grown from roughly 130 pounds to 250.

"He’s a happy tiger," said Gilbreth. "He’s able to actually be a tiger now."