Wait, What? Tigers In The Nevada Desert?

Imagine going for a hike in the Nevada desert and you come across some wildlife.

Is it a rattlesnake? Perhaps a jackrabbit or coyote? Maybe a scorpion or even a mountain lion shows itself?

While any of those animals can make your heart skip a beat, they're nothing compared to what's been lurking around the Nevada desert the past few years.

Tigers.

Yep, real, striped, bona fide man-eating tigers.

Wednesday seven tigers were seized from a man's property near Pahrump, Nevada.

Nye County authorities seized the big cats on Wednesday in Pahrump, citing concerns about the animals' living conditions and permitting issues.

The owner of the tigers, Karl Mitchell, was taken into custody for allegedly resisting arrest.

Authorities say he did not have the correct Special Conditions Animal Permit for keeping the tigers, as required by the county.

Mitchell claims he rescued the tigers from the infamous star of the "Tiger King" series Joe Exotic and said he has the right to keep them, calling them his "emotional support animals."

Mitchell, long known to animal control and law enforcement officials for his questionable care-taking practices, says he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and vows to get the tigers back.

According to KLAS-TV, Mitchell has owned the tigers for seven years and has been sent to jail several times for mistreatment of animals. He also was arrested for theft during his time as an animal control officer for Nye County in Nevada.

It took authorities hours to seize the tigers as they had to use tranquilizer guns and safe practices to ensure no one would get attacked.

A crew from Turpentine Creek Wildlife Rescue in Arkansas assisted in the seizure.

Tanya Smith from the TCWR told Fox5 in Las Vegas that "tigers travel pretty well, you know. They’re in a box and trailers."

Smith said the team would take several days to transport the unsedated animals to Arkansas where they would be cared for by the TCWR.

"The animal control issues at this facility were some of the worst I’ve ever seen, and when I say I’ve rescued over 500 of these big cats and bears from all over the country, I’ve seen some really bad stuff," Smith said.

Mitchell, who has been released from jail, has not faced any formal charges in the seizure. However, it is doubtful he will ever get the animals back from Arkansas.