MAKKAH — Police have arrested the thief who stole a lion cub from its den in Al-Awali neighborhood on Thursday, Al-Madinah daily reported Saturday quoting spokesman for Makkah police Lt. Col. Abdulmohsin Al-Maiman. He said the man stole the cub because he and his sons were emotionally attached to it. Owner of the young lion Ahmed Al-Minaie said he bought the cub about a month ago at SR45,000. “The cub, which is four months old now, is worth SR500,000,” he said. The owner said a special den was prepared for the cub in his farm in Wadi Nuaman outside Makkah. “I was keeping it along with a young cheetah in a building near my office pending their transportation to the farm,” he said. Al-Minaie said in the past two days a man visited his office several times expressing desire to purchase the lion. “When we refused to sell, the thief stole the lion,” he said. Residents of the neighborhood panicked when reports were circulated Thursday about a lion being at large in the district. “We received a number of telephone calls from panicking residents but we assured them that the situation was under control,” the spokesman said. Al-Minaie said he is in possession of video clip showing four unidentified people stealing the lion. “There are also three eyewitnesses who actually saw the thieves. The cameras of the shopping mall in which my office is located have also taken the plate number of the car in which thieves sped away,” he said. Al-Nibnaie said his lion poses no threat to humans as it is tamed and has no sharp claws or teeth which were trimmed. Meanwhile, the director of information and public relations in Makkah municipality Osman Abu Bakr Mali warned citizens against raising wild animals in their houses or in special enclosures near their homes or offices. “The municipality will not hesitate to demolish these enclosures and confiscate the animals,” he said.
