DALLAS -- A body of a tiger found shot to death near Interstate 35 in Dallas was being stored at the Dallas Zoo on Thursday while state and federal officials investigate its origin.

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An unidentified caller phoned a city hot line on Christmas Day about a dead animal, said Danielle McClelland, a city of Dallas spokeswoman. A sanitation crew that arrived to clean it up found a full-grown tiger under a blue tarp at I-35 and Kiest Boulevard.

An examination Thursday revealed the tiger had been shot five times -- in the chest, head and heart.

Zoo officials said the tiger had apparently been someone's pet. It was declawed and had a collar around its neck, as well a leash.

Zoo spokeswoman Susan Eckert said the tiger was nearly 6 feet long and weighed about 180 pounds. Zoo officials believe it is a Bengal tiger and was "fairly young." It appeared to have been in good health before being shot, although it hadn't eaten in about a day.

It is illegal to keep tigers and other exotic animals within Dallas city limits, but in other areas of Texas the animals are legal if they are registered. There are several thousand registered big cats in Texas, officials said.

The Department of Agriculture is investigating. It is not necessarily a criminal case, but could involve fines or revocation of permit if the person had one, authorities said.