Milwaukee Lion: Confirmed Sighting

There is a lion on the streets of Milwaukee according to police.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Just when you might have thought the lion sightings last week in Milwaukee were a bit of the rumor mill gone off the rails, the Milwaukee Police Department late Saturday said there had been a confirmed sighting of a "lion-like animal" near N. 30th St. and W. Fairmount Ave.

At 7:15 p.m. police and staff of the Department of Natural Resources responded to the area.

Police said they had not located the animal but had "contained" the area and were in the neighborhood throughout the night.

After the overnight stakeout, officers began sweeping a ravine along 31st Street at 7 a.m. Sunday Police said Sunday morning the lion is still in the contained area.

Officers with canines, veterinarians and staff from the DNR are on the scene to contain and hopefully find the lion.

...Deputy Inspector Steve Basting said the confirmed sighting was by a Milwaukee police officer about 7:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Creek area. He said the officer saw a "lion-like" creature that disappeared into a wooded area.

Basting said police had cordoned off several blocks along the creek to keep people away. And then once daylight hits on Sunday, the DNR will come in and try to track the animal.

"We are not prepared to be beating the bush for a lion in the dark," he said.

Shortly after 10 p.m., an officer with a rifle was standing on a bridge over Lincoln Creek near N. Teutonia Ave.

Multiple police squads and motorcycles were on hand.

Ronnika Bynum, who lives in the area, said she talked to a man near N. 32nd St. He told her he saw two lions. "He said it looked like a mother and baby," Bynum said.

She said she's not worried. "I'm excited.," Bynum said. "I love lions. You don't get to see stuff like this in Milwaukee."

So, turns out there is a "lion-like animal" roaming Milwaukee.

I think some people in Milwaukee pose a far greater threat to citizens than the lion does.

It's too bad this animal has wandered into the city and resources are being directed to containing it.

Last week, it took three hours for police to respond to the rape of an elderly woman.

Milwaukee has bigger problems than a lion.
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UPDATE: "Lion-like animal" apparently slips out of contained area

The Milwaukee lion saga continued Sunday morning as the "lion-like" creature apparently slipped through a police dragnet on the north side.

Police saw the animal in a ravine near N. 31st and W. Cameron Ave. as late as 7:15 Sunday morning but by 9:30 they said they had searched the entire four-block containment area and had come up empty.

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to keep visibility on it very long and it went into some very thick vegetation," Milwaukee Police Lt. Paul Formolo said.

After the sighting this morning, they made a more extensive search and called in canine units, trying to get the lion out into the open. Officers with rifles and staff from the DNR with traquilizers searched the ravine, making noise and shaking bushes. For now, police guess the animal broke the police barrier and headed north.

Police still don't know exactly what the animal is. Formolo said a zoologist helping in the search this morning said it could be a young african lion or a mature mountain lion or other cougar species. Police did not see a cub that was rumored to be with the animal Saturday night.

Police will stay on the scene near N. 31st St. and W. Cameron Ave. in case the animal is spotted again in the area. Neighborhood children often play in the ravine and Formolo advised parents to keep kids away from the area.

Milwaukee parents should also be advised to keep their kids from shooting other kids.

Just a thought.