Manes on a Plain: Lioness & Cub on the Loose in Indiana

🎶 In the cornfield, the mighty cornfield, the lion sleeps tonight. 🎶

Okay, so that isn’t how the song goes, but it might as well be because WE’VE GOT LIONS IN INDIANA, LADIES AND GENTS.

Fox 59 reports:

MADISON/HANCOCK COUNTIES, Ind. — A lion and a cub may be on the loose somewhere in Hancock or Madison counties.

Sheriff’s deputies and state police are on the hunt for the animals.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Department said it received a report at 10 a.m. of two large exotic cats on the loose somewhere in the 10000 block of South County Road 50 West.

A resident reportedly looked out his back window and observed an allegedly 300-pound lioness wearing a blue harness heading southwest. A smaller cub was reportedly alongside the lioness.

Previously, the sheriff’s department said it also had received a report from a drone operator confirming the sighting of the animals.

The sheriff’s department said no law enforcement officers have spotted the animals after a four-hour extensive search. Police used ground units and thermal drones during the search but no lions were spotted.

I think the lions must’ve missed the memo—pride month was two months ago.

The fact that they did a four-hour extensive search and have turned up nothing is both impressive on the lions’ part and scary. Indiana is full of trees and fields, so there are plenty of places to hide at this time of year.

I am hoping they can locate the two animals safely and figure out why in the world the animals are loose in the Midwest. In the meantime, R.I.P. to the local deer population.

Watch: