A Florida man has been hit with federal charges for illegally purchasing and delivering a Bengal tiger cross-country, allegedly at the request of rapper Tyga. Tyga, who is perhaps best known for dating Kylie Jenner, has not been charged.
Nicholas Lee Bishop (known as "Nick the Wrangler") used a fake name and falsified documents to purchase Maverick the tiger when he was just a cub and then delivered him cross-country to Tyga in 2014. He said that he and Tyga "built cages" for the animal at the mansion Tyga was renting in Calabasas, California.
After owning the tiger for a few months, Tyga allegedly grew fearful of being caught with the illegal animal and gave it to a friend in Ventura. Maverick briefly escaped from the friend's custody and was photographed roaming a backyard unrestrained, and he subsequently gave the tiger to two brothers who lived in Piru, California. Law enforcement officials later found Maverick confined to a dog crate in the brothers' backyard shed.
Maverick now lives in a California sanctuary. This is him, now fully grown:
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