Passerby Catches Runaway Lion That Was Likely Someone's Illegal Pet (VIDEO)
A man in Kuwait took the definition of "Good Samaritan" to a whole new level over the weekend after he lured a dangerous lion off the streets and into his car.
Passing through an upper class neighborhood in Kuwait, a man noticed a runaway lion while driving down the street. Unsure of what to make of the animal, the man decided to lure the lion into his car.
But after he successfully attracted the king of the jungle into his back seat, the lion became dangerous forcing the man to call police a Reuters reports stated. When police arrived, they successfully transferred the lion from one backseat to another.
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"(The passerby) sat inside the car with the lion and then it became dangerous so the citizen called police who came and took it from that car to their car," a police source told Reuters.
But where the lion came from has become an issue, as it is suspected that the animal was being held as a pet. It is popular among some Arab citizens to keep lions as a show of wealth, but the animals become abused instead.
"If someone buys a very expensive animal, he is boasting that he has enough money to get anything he wants," Jasim Ali, who rescues abused animals at Ras Al Khaimah Wildlife Park, told CNN last year.
"If he has a tamed wild animal like a lion, he is trying to show off that he is brave. But this is not courage; this is animal rights abuse."
Police are currently investigating who the own of the lion rescued over the weekend might be.
More than 200 illegal animals in the United Arab Emirates were confiscated alive by the authorities in 2010, according to CITES.
Lions are not the only ones held as pets, but other exotic cats as well in addition to varying large animals.
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