Lion On The Loose In Milwaukee? Police Report 30 Sightings

Milwaukee residents, politicians and police have been captivated this week over a lion that may or may not be running around their city.

A Milwaukee Police spokesman told Patch on Thursday that the department has received about 30 reports of lion sightings, all of which have been investigated. None of them, though, turned up a lion or animal that looks like a lion, though one very tough dog was mistakenly shot and wounded.

Real or not, the lion has spawned memes, jokes and even a parody twitter account.

The frenzy really picked up when this grainy video circulated showing what many say is a lion or big cat:

As typically happens in a bizarre situation like this, the sightings led to a fair share of jokes and memes like this:

The commotion took a dark turn on Tuesday. WITI in Milwaukee reported that a man accidentally shot a dog, thinking it was the lion, sending the dog to the hospital. The pit bull suffered a fractured leg.

Milwaukee alderwoman Milele Coggs released the following statement on the possible intruder:

The sighting and recorded video footage of a large cat in the Brewers Hill neighborhood in the 6th District on Sunday has become national news and is now daily fodder on social media and in neighborhood conversations across the city.

The case is being handled by Milwaukee police and is still active – the sighting has not been cleared and the information provided by witnesses has not been determined to be unfounded.

I urge my constituents and residents of the area to be cautious and aware of your surroundings at all times. Children and pets should be monitored closely when outdoors.

The joking social media posts have been entertaining during these past few days, but again I urge caution until police are able to clear the case.

Please call 9-1-1 immediately if you see the animal.

Police say that if you do see a lion, you “should not attempt to capture it but should call for additional resources who will follow the animal until it can safely be put down.”

Image via YouTube