NEWSLINK: Big cat crisis: lion populations dwindling in Africa

Big cat crisis: lion populations dwindling in Africa
By Mihai Andrei
If things continue to move in this direction, a few decades from now, we will be living in a world with only a handful of tigers: just over 3000 tigers rem.

SIGHTINGS: Lion sightings reported in Bedfordshire. No media circus this time around

Seriously, more lion reports in the U.K.
‘Lion’ on the loose in Bedford: big cat sightings reported

Two witnesses claim they saw a lion “on the prowl” in a residential area of Bedford, six weeks after similar sightings sparked panic in Essex.
Two dog walkers claim to have spotted a lion stalking a housing estate in Bedford.
The women reported seeing the “orange and brown” beast prowling around the residential area.
However, while Essex police mounted a full-scale lion hunt this summer following claims of a wild animal on the loose, the Bedfordshire force is taking a more sceptical approach.
The first eyewitness said she came face-to-face with the lion in Thor Drive this week as she walked her Yorkshire Terriers.
“I was stood about four feet away from it and I’ve seen enough National Geographic programmes to know it was on the prowl,” said the woman, who declined to be named “for fear of being mocked”.
The animal was last seen heading off in the direction of a neighbouring pig farm. Locals speculated that it could have been a pig.
A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said: “There is no ongoing incident involving a lion.”

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TERATOLOGY/CRYPTOZOOLOGY: Maned lionesses explained

Weird & Wild: Rare Maned Lionesses Explained
National Geographic
... individual pictured below), where the lion population may carry a genetic disposition toward the phenomenon, according to Luke Hunter, president of the big-cat conservation group Panthera, which collaborates with National Geographic's Big Cats ...

This is a case which makes one think of the marozi or spotted lion case so beloved of some cryptozoologists

SIGHTING: Bedfordshire 'lion'

'Lion' on the loose in Bedford: big cat sightings reported
Telegraph.co.uk
It was too big to be a domestic cat and it was definitely a wild animal. I know what I saw and he looked at me.” Her account to the local paper prompted another woman, Sharon Underwood, to come forward yesterday and say she spotted the animal several ...

NEWSLINK: 200kg cat to be couriered across Tasman

MEDIA RELEASE
12 September 2012

200kg cat to be couriered across TasmanAuckland Zoo’s male lion Lazarus, who has fathered six offspring since his arrival in 2003, is today being air-freighted across the Tasman to start a new life at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, New South Wales. The move, part of an Australasian regional breeding programme for this big cat species, paves the way for Auckland Zoo’s other male lion, Ngala, to step up and lead the pride of three females, and hopefully breed. Lazarus, who weighs 200kg, will travel in a special custom-built steel crate on a Tasman Cargo Airlines Boeing 757 freighter aircraft that will also be carrying express parcels, boutique clothing, fresh fish and other food products. Horses – frequent flyers on this aircraft, have been rescheduled to fly on a different day this week to give this big cat priority passage.

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ALSO

Big daddy heads for new family
New Zealand Herald
The 200kg cat, who has fathered six offspring, is part of an Australasian regional breeding programme and his departure will make way for the zoo's other male lion, Ngala, to lead the pride of three females, and hopefully breed. Lazarus will be air ...