British police stop searching for lion reported to be roaming freely
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Police have called off a search for a lion reportedly on the loose in Essex.
Officers have spent almost 24 hours combing the countryside around Clacton-on-Sea after a group of residents yesterday claimed to have seen the king of the jungle near Earls Hall Drive in St Osyth.
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An Essex Police spokesman said: "We believe what was seen on Sunday evening was either a large domestic cat or a wildcat.
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The force originally advised residents to remain indoors as the search got under way after 7pm yesterday.
Helicopters with heat-seeking equipment were scrambled to an area where the creature was apparently seen and experts from Colchester Zoo were called in to help.
They were shown images of the animal captured by a local and could not rule out that it was a lion.
More here: Essex lion hunt called off as police search finds no evidence of big cat - Home News - UK - The Independent
