Armed officers called after carrier bag mistaken for stray lion in Kenya

Armed wildlife officers were shocked when they attended reports of a stray lion hiding in a hedge in Kenya - only to find what was actually a carrier bag.

The bag, which was decorated with a lion's face, had been left under bushes in the shade when locals spotted it and raised the alarm, fearing the big cat could pounce.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) tweeted that officers had "rushed to scene in a bid to mitigate a possible Human Wildlife Conflict case."

"On arrival, KWS rangers were astonished to find out that the ‘alleged lion’ was a lion printed carrier bag," a tweet read.

Once they realised there was no threat, officers saw the funny side and started taking photos of the so-called lion.

Despite the caller having mistaken the bag for a big cat, KWS praised the public for raising the alarm to avoid a possible disaster.

The bag came from supermarket Carrefour, which seemingly took advantage of the attention on social media by sharing a picture with the words 'the lion is not real, the extra low prices are.'

A similar sighting occurred in the UK in March when police were called to reports of a 'tiger' on the loose in Oldham, only to find stuffed a toy.

Police then named the soft toy Tony the Tiger, after the cartoon in the advert for Kellogg’s Frosties.

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