"Lion" roars spook residents, spark hunt

Tue Sep 4, 2007 8:26AM EDTCARACAS (Reuters) - Roars from an unidentified feline have scared residents of a mountainous Caracas suburb and triggered a hunt for the capture of what neighbors are convinced is a lion.

But Venezuelan authorities, who have scoured the woods on horseback where the bellowing comes from, could only confirm the presence of some type of feline after finding the carcasses of small animals including a half-eaten armadillo.

"One of the people that saw this animal talks about a lion," said Juan Fernandez, mayor of the affected Las Salias municipality, in an interview with local radio Monday.

"We cannot say if (the animal) is a lion, a tiger, a puma or a little spotted cat," he said.

Venezuelan jungles and mountains are teeming with exotic fauna but encounters with dangerous wild animals are rare around the South American nation's crowded capital that is typically clogged with noisy traffic.

Local media reported two lions had escaped years ago from a nearby zoo, but Fernandez said the institution has denied any of the predators were missing.