Many of you were as shocked as I was, when a Calvert woman was arrested this month for allegedly trying to sell six Bengal tiger cubs in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

But, I was even more shocked, when I found out you can actually buy a tiger cub on-line. That's right. Tigers, lions, snakes, monkeys, you name it, it can be bought with just a click of a mouse. Just search on-line and you'll see.

Can you imagine your neighbor buying an exotic, dangerous animal? Then, what if it got loose? Well, this happens. I recently interviewed Tim Harrison, who actually rescues exotic animals. He has captured animals, like lions, running down highways and hiding out in residential neighborhoods. He says people buy these wild animals for fun and then let them loose when they get too big or too expensive to feed. Harrison says some of these animals were bought on-line.

Get this, Harrison says he recently helped a television station with an investigative piece. A reporter wanted to see if he could order a poisonous snake on-line and have it delivered to the television station. Well, it worked. In three days the snake arrived, and Harrison was there to rescue it. Harrison says he is currently working on a movie about what it takes to have an elephant delivered to your front door. Crazy!

It's amazing that this is happening. I really thought tigers, and other exotic animals were only meant for zoos. But, there are places, even around the Brazos Valley that house exotic animals. For example the woman arrested for trying to sell the tigers at Wal-Mart is associated with Spring Hill Wildlife Ranch in Calvert.

Are there other "wildlife ranches" out there? I'd like to hear about them. Let me know if there are exotic animals living by you. Until Later, Meredith