>>2187512For some inspiration perhaps check out Shikar by Jack Warner. It's a little-known novel about a tiger that escapes from an overturned circus truck and begins preying on inhabitants of a small town in rural Georgia. It was turned into a 2007 TV movie called Maneater, starring Gary Busey of all people. I watched it on SciFi Channel when I was younger.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneater_(2007_film)You can watch it here for free on YouTube. It's not very good (and this version is censored) but if you like the schlocky premise or are a Busey fan you might get something out of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzrRctpt4Gc 