BY: ABQ RAW Staff
POSTED: 1/12/2024 @ 10:30AM
© 2023 ABQRAW All Rights Reserved – Please Request Permission Before Disseminating on Other Social Media Platforms
Duke at a young age in 2023
Albuquerque –
Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Amy Lueders, Acting Deputy Director of Operations for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announced today that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging David Mendoza-Enriquez with conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits the transport and sale of certain wildlife, in connection with the tiger cub seized in Albuquerque early last year. Mendoza-Enriquez, aka “Cholo,” 40, of Albuquerque, was also one of 15 defendants charged with drug trafficking in a separate superseding indictment.
PATREON MEMBERS CAN READ THE FEDERAL INDICTMENT HERE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/duke-tiger-96366604
According to the indictment, between Nov. 20, 2022, and Jan. 10, 2023, Mendoza-Enriquez conspired with others to import the tiger cub from Mexico into New Mexico and sell it for thousands of dollars.
On January 10, 2023, the Albuquerque Police Department, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, located and seized the tiger cub in Albuquerque after responding to an unrelated call. The original call was a shoot out in the War Zone where one person was struck with gunfire and escaped to a trailer park. There at the trailer park was a human blood trail that went into the trailer home. When officers entered the trailer they did not find a human gun shot victim but instead found the tiger cub.
The tiger cub, now named “Duke,” was transferred to the ABQ BioPark, and later to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. In an ABQ RAW fan comment, a fan said, “lil homie got out.”
We reached out to the Wild Animal Sanctuary for an update on Duke:
Duke is doing very well and has grown to be a beautiful young male tiger. He now lives in a large acreage natural habitat with a female tiger and they really enjoy each other’s company. Duke, of course, was neutered, so he will not be able to breed, but he still enjoys having a female mate to romp, play and live with.
Gracie and Duke
He still enjoys swimming in the water and now has someone to share that joy with. We expect Duke and his new partner, Gracie, to have a long enjoyable life together while living at the World’s largest carnivore Sanctuary!
Founder and Executive Director – Pat Craig
Duke grown up since his cub days in Albuquerque
Mendoza-Enriquez more than likely will not get out of serving his federal time while Duke lives his best life in Colorado.