A 205kg Bengal tiger named Kenzo has been shot dead after spending four days on the loose in the ravines of Mexico State, following its escape from a private wildlife facility. The tiger escaped after maintenance workers accidentally left the gates open while pruning a tree in its enclosure.
Escape and Initial Attack
Shortly after the escape, a local resident reported that one of his horses had been attacked, prompting authorities to launch a major search operation. Residents in the area were urged to remain vigilant as officers and wildlife experts searched for the 18-month-old big cat. Photos and videos of Kenzo were captured by drone as he moved through the surrounding terrain.
Tepetlaoxtoc mayor Diana Morales told residents to remain calm but to close doors and windows and “take extreme caution”. Dozens of officers, tracking dogs and thermal drones were deployed to locate the tiger, which had moved into dense ravines so difficult to navigate that search teams were forced to continue on foot.
Capture Attempt and Death
After days of searching, Kenzo was eventually found deep inside a ravine. Despite plans for a “containment operation”, the tiger was shot by an officer — tragically, a veterinarian with sedative darts was reportedly nearby. Gustavo Ampugnani, director of Wildlife at Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment, said the firearm was “never fired to kill” and that the shot was intended to stop the young tiger from attacking those attempting to recapture him.
“First priority is protecting the lives of people who are in danger,” he said via EL PAÍS. “Unfortunately he died.” Ampugnani said the team had prepared to use sedative darts but claimed Kenzo lunged towards the veterinarian responsible for firing them, causing an officer nearby to fire a warning shot towards the ground. He said the tiger later appeared behind two people, leaving officers with only moments to react.
“You have to act quickly when the danger is essentially imminent,” he noted, adding that sedative darts don’t kick in immediately. The operation was initially declared a success, with people in the area celebrating that the tiger had been recovered without further harm. However, it was later confirmed that Kenzo had died during the capture attempt. “We presume the gunshot wounds caused internal bleeding,” Ampugnani said.
Background and Aftermath
According to Jorge Zapata, coordinator of the Environmental Protection Representation Offices, Kenzo escaped after a communication error during maintenance work at the facility. He added that the error resulted in maintenance workers leaving the enclosure doors and facility gates open, allowing the tiger to escape.
Mexico is not home to wild tigers, and Bengal tigers are a protected species with an estimated population of around 4,000 in the wild, mostly found in India. Kenzo was born in Hidalgo, Mexico, at a private wildlife facility licensed by the government to manage animals in captivity before being sold to Animal Experience at eight months old.
Following an inspection prompted by the recent escape, Animal Experience’s facilities were shut down after authorities found the site had “violated the management plan previously authorised by Semarnat”. The federal agency has since taken custody of the other animals kept at the facility, including a Harris’s hawk, spider monkey, Morelet’s crocodile, two raccoons, a Burmese python, two jaguars and a black bear.
