African Lion roaming SE WV

imported
#1

Oh gosh! Just when thruhikers thought they had seen everything the trail could throw at them. Be careful on the Roller Coaster this Spring/Summer heading into Harpers Ferry.

From the AP;

In West Virginia, a lion (apparently) sleeps tonight
At least two people now claim they’ve recently seen a lion roaming on a West Virginia mountainside. And we don’t mean a mountain lion, either – we mean a lion lion, as in an African lion, as in 250 to 300 pounds of gazelle-killing majesty.

That’s what Jim Shortridge of Frankford, W. Va., said he saw when he went bow-hunting last week. The Mountain Messenger of Lewisburg, W. Va., picks up the story:

As he was about to carry gear from his pick-up to his hut-stand, he heard something coming through the trees. “I thought at first that it was a deer, but it didn’t sound all that much like a deer,” he explained.

And then, there it was, a huge male lion, mane and all. “I don’t scare easily,” Shortridge said, “but that thing was a monster. It must have weighed between 250 and 300 pounds. He could have had me for breakfast. It made the hair stand up on my neck, I can tell you.”

Shortridge went back to his truck and stayed there for the next 40 minutes as the lion walked 10 to 15 feet away, the paper reported. He then went to his hunting stand and…

(Wait. Let’s stop a second. You’ve just been stalked by a lion – in the mountains of West Virginia, no less – for 40 minutes. Wouldn’t the more prudent choice be to leave the area?)

…now, back to our story: Of course, the lion promptly re-appeared.

Shortridge had a bow, but no gun; he waited the lion out from his hunting stand, went home and called the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources.

Shortridge’s call was the second the department had received about the lion, the newspaper reported. The AP reports that state and local officials set up a video camera at the scene – and left 20 pounds of raw chicken there, which was devoured. Unfortunately, there apparently is no video record of the devourer – and the story’s not quite clear about which came first, the camera or the chicken.

“Anything could have eaten that,” Greenbrier County Animal Control Officer Robert McClung told the AP.

Tony Ruoti

#2

Hunter says lion on the prowl in Greenbrier

By Christian Giggenbach
THE REGISTER-HERALD (BECKLEY, W.V.)

BIG ROARING CREEK, W.Va. —
The king of the jungle just might be playing king of the mountain in a remote area of Greenbrier County.

While bow hunting last Wednesday on his 40-acre plot of land at Big Roaring Creek at the foot of Cold Knob, Jim Shortridge of Frankford says he watched a full-grown male African lion, complete with a four-foot-long tail, pace around his hunting shanty for about 40 minutes before running off into the woods.

Shortridge was at the homemade hunting shanty before daybreak, at about 5:30 a.m., and was in the process of transferring his gear to the building when he first heard the animal. His only weapon at the time was a bow that was still in his truck a few feet away.

“He started growling at me and I hollered and it sounded like he was running away,” Shortridge said. “So I put my lunch box down and went back to my truck and got my bow.”

“He started growling again,” Shortridge continued, “and when I went back in the building and sat down, I turned the light on him. He was about 10 to 15 yards away, and he kept walking back and forth and was huffing and puffing at me.”

Shortridge, 72, a lifelong hunter of bear, deer, turkey and other wildlife, estimated the animal weighed between 250 to 300 pounds. With only a small flashlight to shine on the animal, Shortridge said it was hard to determine whether it had a full mane. But he will never forget the sounds the big cat was making.

“He was doing medium growls, but they kept getting louder and louder,” Shortridge said. “I’m not afraid of anything, but I’m a lot more cautious now and I don’t get out of the truck until daylight, and now I take my rifle with me.”

Shortridge has hunted the area twice since then, but hasn’t seen the lion, or much of anything else around.

“I know he’s around because there aren’t any deer here anymore,” he said. “I called the Division of Natural Resources and they told me I was the second call they had received about the lion.”

DNR Conservation Officer Gabe Frangos said there had been no documented evidence of a lion’s presence in the area, but he had spoken to Shortridge about his unusual experience.

“If it’s a mountain lion, then it’s a protected species in this state,” Frangos said. “But if it’s an African lion or an exotic animal, then our department doesn’t have any jurisdiction.”

Tony Ruoti

#3

Maybe it was just a mountain lion. In the second article he claims he couldn’t tell if it had a “full” mane or not.

There have been some rare cases of mountain lions reaching up to 260 lbs.

Still, I wouldn’t want to tangle with a Mountain Lion either though they are genrally less aggressive.

Stryker

#4

… maybe a hiker ate the 20 lbs of raw chicken. :cheers

southpaw

#5

In 2003, 4 thru-hikers I knew saw a lion at Dicks Dome shelter. They said it ran in and along the creek in front of the shelter. This story is a second hand account but I consider all 4 of these guys to be reliable. Not a mountain lion, but an african lion, male.

Spider

#6

I wonder if it will be gone by the time thru-hikers get to that part of the trail next year, around April/May?

Congo John

#7

theres lots of deer around here in harpers ferry. this is the first ive heard of a lion. just the facts, man.

heather

#8

It could easily be an African lion escaped from captivity or abandoned by an owner. I have no problem believing such an event.

As for the deer hunter climbing back to his tree stand…well, some hunters I know wouldn’t let something as minor as an African lion deter them from a deer hunt.

PhilOchsLives

#9

“As for the deer hunter climbing back to his tree stand…well, some hunters I know wouldn’t let something as minor as an African lion deter them from a deer hunt.”

He probably just treated it as though it was a bear. 250 is a good sized bear, but by no means the record. In Maine, black bear can top out around the 600 pound mark. I saw one that big this year, and I swore to gosh that it was a moose lying down in the road . . . until it kept moving.

Kineo Kid

#10

Why does this story remind me of the Sasquatch sightings in the 1970s. All we need now is someone in a hollywood lion suit being recorded on poor quality film.

If an african lion was in the US legally, someone would know where it should be and it would be easy to see if it was missing. The odds are, if liquor isn’t involved then this is a large mountain lion.

Miner

#11

Listen guys here is the latest update on the african lion. Last seen running through the woods with a Leprechaun on his back. The Leprechaun said something about those pesky hikers trying to steal his lucky charms. Buts lets keep all this to us hikers. I pinky promise I will and u must do the same!!!:pimp

SmokeEater

#12

In reference to Miner’s post, perhaps it is an “undocumented” African lion and thus requires a New York drivers license to be indentified and then vote in the next election.

Tony

#13

That lion should be quite hungry come spring when thru’s pass through the area.:eek:

old&in the way