Owner of a giant cat believes that his pet is the mystery animal that triggered Britain's biggest safari hunt involving helicopters, after holidaymakers reported spotting a
wild animal at a caravan park near Clacton in Essex on Sunday.
Ginny Murphy says her pet, Teddy Bear, was mistaken for a lion.
The three-year-old pet - a Maine Coon which can weigh up to 25lb, be up to 16in tall and 40in long - lives just a few hundred yards from the park, the Daily Mail reported.
Following reports of a wild animal on the loose, armed officers and two police helicopters using heat-seeking equipment, which cost 880 pounds an hour to run, were scrambled.
Workers from nearby Colchester Zoo carrying tranquilliser guns scoured the fields and residents were warned to stay indoors. Caravanners were temporarily moved to a nearby garden centre.
But while the local community was plunged into terror, Murphy watched the drama unfold on television from Liverpool, where she was away. And she immediately had her suspicions.
"It clicked right away. We thought it had to be Ted as he's the only big gingery thing around there and he does tend to wander into that field," the Daily Mail quoted Murphy as saying.
After looking at the pictures of the supposed lion Murphy said she had no doubt it was Ted.
"There's no question about, it's him. As we were away he probably went into the field to sulk. From a distance, because he has a light-coloured mane he does look a little lion like. I can see why someone would think that.
"He's a Maine Coon, which is the biggest breed of domestic cat. And he's got the personality to match, he has such a bad attitude and puts the dog in his place all the time. He thinks he's the man of the house and has often been mistaken for a fox," she added.
The hunt certainly injected an unexpected dose of excitement into the community of St Osyth, which until Sunday had held little intrigue for most except weathermen and caravan enthusiasts.
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