This story is not something you would expect to hear about in the Netherlands. On Sunday, police were searching for the owner of a lion cub, which is estimated to be around four months of age. A jogger outside the village of Tienhoven found the young cat abandoned in a cage. After the jogger contacted the police, they, in turn, called a local veterinarian to ask him to collect the lion cub.
The tiny lion cub was then taken to The Lion Foundation, a Dutch rescue organisation, while police continue their search for the person who abandoned the young animal to its fate.
Lion cub found by jogger
It’s not every day that you find a young lion while jogging in the Dutch countryside, around 10 km (6 miles) north of the city of Utrecht. It is believed by the veterinarian, Peter Klaver that the animal may have become too large for the owner to handle.
As reported by the BBC, while the animal is now with The Lion Foundation, it was first with the local vet, who was asked by police to collect the lion cub. Klaver told the local media that he had travelled the world and had been asked to stun a variety of wild animals, including tigers and lions. However, he said he had never experienced anything quite like this in the quiet countryside of the Netherlands.
Jogger finds abandoned lion cub in Netherlands https://t.co/aT0TxLiEG5 pic.twitter.com/JAUB0hbyN0
— IG:itz_olumade (@Mardey_lee) October 7, 2018
Klaver said while it was surprising, he was able to pick up the cage with the lion cub inside it with ease and place it in his car, so stunning the animal, in this case, was not a necessity.
Klaver did say the cage itself was not particularly sturdy and the little animal could have easily escaped. He examined the lion cub and it was then transferred to The Lion Foundation rescue facility.
The Lion Foundation director, Robert Kruijff, told local media that the lion cub did not appear to be malnourished and is doing well.
At present, he is in quarantine and needs some rest after his traumatic experience. He is being kept in isolation from the other big cats and is being fed small pieces of meat. The foundation normally cares for former circus lions.
Police hunt for owner of abandoned cub
Meanwhile, the local police uploaded a photo of the lion cub in its cage to their Twitter account, on Sunday, writing in their caption that their colleagues in Tienhoven had received a very strange report.
They went on to ask if anyone had seen or heard anything relating to the lion cub.
Vanochtend kregen de collega’s een wel hele bijzondere melding in Tienhoven. 🤨🦁 Iets gezien of gehoord?. Laat het ons weten #tienhoven #gevonden #getuigenoproep #politie https://t.co/g1n5VgJbn5 pic.twitter.com/HyVbgp2Izk
— PolitieStichtseVecht (@PolitieStiVe) October 7, 2018
As reported by Yahoo! News, the police also wrote on their Facebook page to say a “mini-lion” had been found abandoned in a cage in a local field. They said after receiving the call, they arrived at the field to discover the little lion, which they estimated to be around four months of age.
Police are asking people to come forward if they have any information about anyone recently purchasing a lion cub, or about the cub that had now been found in a cage in the countryside.