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Escaped lion strolling the streets of Karachi triggers panic

For the second time this year, a lion roamed freely in a significant Pakistani city, revealing the fascination for exotic pets. On Tuesday, the 20-month-old male lion wandered through the streets of a congested neighborhood in Karachi for several hours, as stated by police official Sheraz Nazir.

DPA ASIA
Published August 30,2023
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A lion ran loose in a major Pakistani city for the second time this year, officials said on Wednesday, shedding light on the craze for exotic pets.

For hours on Tuesday the 20-month-old male lion strolled the streets in a congested neighbourhood of Karachi, police official Sheraz Nazir said.

Children screamed and adults fled in fear, said Mukhtiar Ahmed Soomro, a wildlife officer who was part of the team that captured the animal.

"It took our team at least two hours to confine the lion to a parking lot and then capture it in a cage," Soomro told dpa from Karachi.

"It was a first-of-its-kind incident in Karachi. Planning and executing an operation to capture such a huge and dangerous animal was a frightening experience," the official added.

No one was mauled. A video shared on the social media showed a man shouting to others to run as the animal slowly walked along the pavement.

The lion was handed over to the city's zoo and a criminal charge was being filed against the owner for keeping a wild animal in a residential area, another wildlife official Mumtaz Ali said.

The owner can face a fine of up to 300,000 Pakistani rupees (around $1,000) and imprisonment up to three years, he added.

Pakistan's wildlife laws allow private citizens to establish mini zoos, but keeping a lion or tiger as a pet in a residential area is a crime.

But these laws are often ignored. In February, a leopard ran loose from a neighbourhood near Islamabad and it took wildlife rangers several hours to capture it.