Photo Courtesy of NC Zoo
After multiple reports of a lion being spotted in the Greenbrier County West Virginia officials have begun to look for the creature. Lion sightings up and down the east coast are often reported on and speculated about and the over all validity of such sightings are often question.
Union County
Moore County Update
Almost always the lion in question is the infamous mountain lion or eastern cougar however in this situation the lion in question appears to be of African decent.
Witness have described an African male lion with a mane wandering around Cold Knob.
Jim Shortridge was bow hunting in the area in a ground blind and had the lion around him for 40 minutes.
“It had a mane, so I could tell it was a male. And I’m sure it wasn’t a bear. Bears are all over Cold Knob. I see six to eight of them every time I go hunting, and I can tell the difference. Bears don’t shake me up at all. This lion made me pretty nervous,” he said.
Tiger Mountain Refuge is located in the area but they are not missing any of their cats. Speculation is that this lion, if sightings are true, either escaped from someone or was turned loose by someone. These big cats in captivity have often had their claws removed and makes hunting for them difficult if they even know how to hunt after being in captivity. We certainly don’t want anyone hurt and if this is a captive cat that has been turned loose I hope they catch who is responsible for this cruel act. We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops.
