Police may resume big-cat hunt in Belfast

Police chiefs in the North will decide today whether to resume a big-cat hunt following reports of a lion on the loose in a Belfast park.

A full-scale search last night failed to spot anything after police received a series of reports of a lion in a park in the north of the city a short distance from Belfast Zoo.

An urgent check of compounds in the zoo by curators confirmed all animals, including lions and tigers, were accounted for, said police.

The search was called off when night fell and senior officers will decide later whether it should be resumed.

The animal was said to have been seen in Cavehill Park – only a short distance from the zoo.

The PSNI helicopter scoured the area and officers were deployed on the ground.

A PSNI spokesman said: “We are taking this seriously; there have been a string of calls about sightings.”

A statement from police headquarters said: “Police in North Belfast are warning the public to be aware of sightings of what appears to be a lion in the Upper Hightown end of Cavehill Park.”

Police urge the public to avoid the area and said anyone who thought they may have seen the animal should not attempt to approach it.

There are regular claimed sightings of big cats roaming the countryside in the North where people are legally allowed to keep such animals.

There have been reports of panthers or pumas savaging livestock – though police would say most sightings are eventually put down to being particularly large feral cats.