A question concerning keeping large exotic cats as pets,lions tigers and such?

A story on the news the other day mentioned that the US now has the largest population of tigers and second largest population of african lions in captivity in the world,most are kept as private pets in populated areas,in flimsy cages without proper care,they have no fear of humans and attacks by these animals are increasing every year.My question is , Is there a possibility of enough of these animals getting into the wild to have a breeding population and what would the effects be? Imagine a few dozen tigers running around in cattle country or a pride of lions running around in your local national forest..

A question concerning keeping large exotic cats as pets,lions tigers and such?
Interesting question, but doesn't seem like the environment is very suitable for their breeding.





That being said, I heard a story on the news several months ago about some scientists who wanted to bring all the types of animals from Africa and create a "wild" sort of park area in unpopulated portions of US. Crazy.
Reply:Excellent question!





I'm going to get some TATER TOTS and think on that one!





Best wishes!
Reply:It'd be just like Jurassic Park, except with the fur instead of the scales...


We'd all be hunted and eaten, one by one, starting with the sleazy lawyer character and the crooked computer technician.
Reply:Not to worry, the hunters would have a Field day. Even a Bengal tiger is no match for a .308 Winchester. Hunting permits would probably be worth more than the cattle.
Reply:It can't happen. The big cats are easy to find in the wild, they are an easy mark for hunters and their reproductive rate is so low that their populations could not increase fast enough to outpace the hunting pressure that would ensue.
Reply:I don't think they would be able to survive if they got out. They have trouble reintroducing the endangered tigers back into the wild in captive breeding programs due to the tigers not being able to hunt successfully and live on their own when being raised in captivity.