Lion sighting has town in uproar

A large feline has tongues wagging in one Northland town.
A big cat isn't loping down Kaiwaka's main street, but the lion sighting in the hills above Parker Lime Company Quarry has sparked gossip, rumours and amusement in the town halfway between Waipu and Wellsford.
The cat was spotted on a ridge above the quarry by fire officer Allan Swanson and his son Carl, who were taking part in a search-and-rescue exercise in Gibbons Rd, Kaiwaka, in late May.
Louise Owens, of Jaques Four Square, said news that a lion might be prowling the hills above Kaiwaka came as a surprise to her and her customers - a Sunday newspaper story was the first most had heard of it.
Ms Owens said motorists passing through were stopping and asking, "Is this the town with the lion?"
Up the road at Shamrock Service Station, Adrienne Bregmen said townsfolk were surprised by the reports.
"People are genuinely quite astounded," she said.
Mrs Bregmen wasn't sure if anyone was planning to head into the hills to search for the big cat, but she expected the rumours to continue for a while yet.
She said the people who made the sightings, chief fire officer John Bowmar and Quarry boss Scott Parker, were reputable and "high, upstanding members of the community."
John Bowmar said his phone hadn't stopped ringing since 6.30am yesterday.
"There's definitely something weird going on in Kaiwaka. That's all I can say."
Mr Bowmar said the news had sparked a flurry of text-messages that were doing the rounds in Kaiwaka.
They were mainly along the lines of: "I told you not to feed your cat so much."
Years ago, a minister claimed he saw a lion while out duck shooting and "turned tail and ran" to his car.
The Northern Advocate was unable to contact "Lion Man" Craig Busch, owner of Zion Wildlife Gardens in Whangarei, but a spokeswoman told Sunday News that all 42 lions, tigers, cheetahs and leopards were present and accounted for.
* HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF:
Make lots of noise, it will generally scare a lion away.
Keep children close to you. One theory is children make easy-to-carry-away prey.
Never approach a lion, no matter how curious you are. They don't like confrontation.
Never run - that just stimulates a lion's chasing instinct. Make yourself as big and noisy as possible. Open your jacket and flap it about, yell, throw stones. Pick up children immediately.
Don't squat, bend, shrink or roll into a ball - that makes humans look like four-legged prey to a lion.
If you're attacked, fight back. Hit as hard as possible, especially to the head and eyes. Stand face to face and use sticks or large rocks as weapons, if possible. - Tips from eHow.com