CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Why would anyone keep a tiger in their basement?

That is one question prosecutors will have to ask after Division of Wildlife agents confiscated a 4-month-old male tiger cub from a home in Centennial Wednesday afternoon.

The DOW was alerted a month ago when someone took a cellphone picture of a tiger cub that was roaming inside a sport utility vehicle. A few weeks later, two other people reported seeing a tiger cub in the back yard of a home.

After conducting a surveillance on the home, wildlife officers determined that the SUV and the home were connected to one person and that person appeared to be keeping the exotic animal inside.

"It was a 4 month old, bengal tiger, and we believe it's 40 to 60 pounds," said Jennifer Churchill of the Division of Wildlife North East Area.

The DOW obtained a search warrant for the home at Mineral Place and Holly Street and moved in Wednesday.

A neighbor told 7NEWS that when a school bus drove through the neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, it wasn't allowed to go down the street. As a precaution, the kids were moved from the bus to a police car that then took them to the door of their homes, the neighbor said.

"It's pretty interesting," said neighbor David Lyons. "I would have never expected it."

The DOW says the cat's owner, Patrick G. Michael, faces a charge of unlawfully possessing wildlife.

Possession of Bengal tigers in the state requires a special license (such as a sanctuary or zoological park license) and there are strict caging requirements for facilities that house big cats such as tigers, the DOW said.

There were no licenses issued in Colorado that allowed the possession of these tigers at the Centennial home either by the homeowner, or by the driver of the SUV.

Investigators say they were tipped off by cell phone pictures that showed the tiger in a SUV being driven around.

The woman who owns the home on Mineral Place told 7NEWS Michael does live there and so did the tiger known as "tigger". She told us the tiger was a hit with the neighborhood kids. She said "tigger" even went to two local private schools for show and tell.

She asked we not use her name but said Michael is a friend and animal lover, not the "monster" the media has made him out to be.

The tiger will be held at an undisclosed, licensed facility pending the court case.