Police in Belfast have called off their search for an escaped "lion" after it turned out to be a large stray dog.
A police helicopter was scrambled last night when police begun a massive search operation after a number of reports from people that a large sandy-coloured animal was spotted prowling in Cavehill public park close to the grounds of Belfast Zoo.
Zoo keepers made an urgent check of all compounds, including those housing lion and tigers but reported that all animals were accounted for.
A police spokeswoman said officers now believed the animal in the park was in fact a large stray dog.
“Police can confirm that there’s no stray lion wandering about in north Belfast,” she said.
There are regular claimed sightings of big cats roaming the Northern Ireland countryside where laws are different to the rest of the UK and people are legally allowed to keep such dangerous animals.
There have been reports of panthers or pumas savaging livestock - though police would say most sightings are eventually put down to being particularly large feral cats.
PA