Stuffed tiger causes 45-minute police standoff at Scottish farm

Ryan W. Miller | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Stuffed tiger caused standoff in Scotland A fake tiger caused a real problem for a Scottish farmer along with the local police who became engaged in an armed standoff with the animal they thought was real.

A fake tiger caused a real headache for a Scottish farmer and local police after a 45-minute showdown turned out to be a sham.

Scottish authorities said Tuesday that officers had an armed standoff with a stuffed tiger over the weekend.

"It's true — our officers had a roaring shift on Saturday night," the North East Police Division wrote in a Facebook post.

The incident began when Bruce Grubb, 24, thought he saw the large cat lurking on his farm in Peterhead, Scotland and quickly called police.

Officers arrived at the scene but remained in their vehicles to figure out the best strategy, the Scottish Sun reported.

"I had absolutely no doubt it was real," Grubb told the newspaper. "I got a hell of a scare. I was worried it was going to eat all my cows before police managed to shoot it."

After a still, nearly hour-long stare down with the alleged beast, Grubb inched closer in his truck, only to discover the animal was a stuffed toy.

Police said armed officers were sent to the scene "as a contingency," but were not deployed. "Until you know exactly what you are dealing with, every option has to be considered," Peterhead Inspector George Cordiner said.

Grubb, who was hosting a small party at the time, denied that alcohol impaired his judgment and said he hadn't drank because the 200 pregnant cows on his farm "could drop at any time."

"I was stone cold sober, drink had nothing to do with me thinking it was real," he told the Sun.

Despite the false alarm, police praised Grubb's decision to make the call when he thought he was in danger. "We appreciate that it was a false call made with genuine good intent," Cordiner said.

Thinking the toy was placed on his property as a joke, Grubb said he doesn't know who put it there.

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