In the News

"Police find little lost lion safe, hungry..."

Copyright Southam Publications Inc. May 2, 2008

It's a babysitter's worst nightmare.

It's late. The charge is nowhere to be found.

Could things get any worse?

Yes.

The charge could be a lion.

And the "parents" could turn on their television just in time to see reports that their loveable six-month-old lion cub -- a bona fide member of the family -- is on the lam.

"We saw it on the news," Sonya Eady said. "My three children are distraught. My daughter is asking why people are taking him. She's beside herself."

Ms. Eady and her partner, Dennis Day of Cobden, say they are the owners of Boomer, the lion who disappeared from the Maniwaki area Tuesday night. Ms. Eady said Boomer was being cared for by a friend for a few days while issues regarding his care were sorted out. When the news hit, she tried to tell her children that maybe it was a different lion. But they caught on pretty quickly. (Boomer is sort of one of a kind.)

Meanwhile, police on the Kitigan Zibi force were having a great time getting to know the "very playful" jailbird after they brought the cub into custody yesterday morning.

After leaving Stanley Dumont-Whiteduck's home Tuesday night, Boomer was found roaming the bush near Maniwaki, about 130 kilometres north of Ottawa, yesterday morning.

Tipped by a call, Chris McConnini of the Kitigan Zibi force played hide and seek with Boomer in the trees alongside Highway 105. When he realized the patrol car's strobe lights were scaring the young cat, he turned them off, and called out to Boomer, who approached looking scared and hungry.

On the way to the station, Boomer caused some damage to the patrol car's seats, but Chief Gordon McGregor brushed it off as part of the experience.

"They called me at home and I knew the little guy was going to be hungry, so I grabbed three or four of the best steaks in the house then headed for the police station," he said.

Boomer was turned over to officials from the province's natural resources ministry just after 8 a.m.

He is being sent to a zoo in Granby, Quebec.

Zoos can be licensed to have lions, but Quebec does not issue licenses for individuals to keep lions, or most other exotic animals, said Jocelyn Martel, chief wildlife officer at the Maniwaki office of the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife. Mr. Martel said his department has confiscated many exotic animals in west Quebec, including crocodiles, boa constrictors and wallabies. But this is the first time his ministry has found a lion.

"As long as we have the ability to go see him, knowing that he's in a good place, we'd be satisfied," said Ms. Eady, noting that Mr. Day might not feel the same way.

Ms. Eady and Mr. Day got Boomer from a zoo when he was three days old. She said Boomer's mother rejected him and the family agreed to foster him for an undisclosed amount of time. She said he is a Barbary lion, which is extinct in the wild.

For the past several months, Boomer got along famously with the couple and their three children. He likes chicken ("not human flesh," Ms. Eady said), playing with the dogs, and enjoys a good cuddle by the TV. Hannah Montana is his favourite show.

"I wouldn't endanger my children's lives," she said. "If I didn't feel it was safe, he wouldn't be there."

But she said the SPCA and Family and Children's Services took issue with the matter and asked the family to build an outdoor enclosure for Boomer on their 40-hectare farm. While they worked out a permanent placement, they decided to let family friend Stanley Dumont-Whiteduck babysit the cub.

Ms. Eady said neither the township nor the province has any law prohibiting the living arrangements.

But Raye-Anne Briscoe, the mayor of Admaston-Bromley township where Boomer normally resides, said it is "absolutely not permissible" for citizens to have exotic animals. The township bylaw states: "No person shall keep or raise any exotic animal on any lands or in any building or structure on such lands within the limits of The Corporation."

She said when the township found out about Boomer, the police department began investigating.

"The rest is history."

Bill Peters, the director of The Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said exotic animal legislation varies from province to province. In Quebec, a permit is required to care for an exotic animal, while in Ontario it is not. He added that Ontario is bringing in new legislation that would require a permit and expand the SPCA's authority.

"Private ownership is very much frowned upon. We don't condone it. We actively discourage it," Mr. Peters said. "Among other things, most private individuals don't have the facilities or resources to meet the needs of these animals.

"Frankly, this is a fairly rare circumstance."

Scott Lote, the director of operations at Big Cat Rescue in Florida, said instances of people keeping lions, tigers and other large felines is "unfortunately" a widespread problem in the U.S.

"It's really ugly, and a lot worse here than in Canada," he said, adding that while there is no federal law, some states have individual permit processes.

"These animals are only useful for a small period of time when they're smaller and handle-able," Mr. Lote said.

"People have no idea when they start out with a baby or small animal. It grows, it kills and eats things the size of people."

Boomer will spend two weeks in quarantine at the Granby Zoo, where he will have a full physical exam and be treated for any outstanding health problems. A shelter has already been prepared for him at the zoo for when he leaves quarantine.

It is unclear whether any of the parties involved will face penalties for breaking the township bylaw. Mayor Briscoe was unsure what jurisdiction the case falls under.

Credit: Katie Daubs and Graham Hughes, with files from David Gonczol; The Ottawa Citizen