Smuggled tiger has emergency surgery in California
An agent holds a male Bengal tiger cub that was confiscated at the U.S. border crossing at Otay Mesa southeast of downtown San Diego in August 2017. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP, File)
A rescued Bengal tiger cub walks around its home at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, Calif., in November 2017. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, File)
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SAN DIEGO — A Bengal tiger cub that was being smuggled into California from Mexico has undergone emergency surgery to fix internal problems he probably had before being rescued.
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park says the male cub, named Moka, had the operation Tuesday and appears to be recovering but he’ll remain under observation.
The park says Moka had abdominal adhesions and recently had shown signs of ill health.
Moka was 6 weeks old when he was found on the floor of a car last August at a San Diego border checkpoint. Tigers are endangered and it’s illegal to import them without a permit.
He was handed over to the park.
The driver, who’d claimed he bought the cub as a pet, was sentenced to six months in prison.
