In the Village, the Peaceful ENGLISH Village, the Lion Sleeps Tonight?

I couldn't resist including this clip of Straight No Chaser doing a cover of this in connection with the news item below.  A performance featuring this A Capella group was recently featured as part of our public television station's fund drive (give generously!).

Had this occurred earlier, I would have wondered if it was more of the wonderful and quirky sense of humor that had the Queen and James Bond supposedly parachute into the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Given that the lion is part of the British heraldic arms, both as a charge, and as an heraldic supporter (the figure holding up the escutcheon or shield on which the actual arms appear) in conjunction variously with a unicorn or dragon as opposite side heraldic supporters.  A lion also appears on Scotland's coat of arms, and as a supporter on the arms of Northern Ireland, which is also of course, a part of the UK.  So it wouldn't be a complete stretch for the Queen to be followed around by a lion instead of her Corgis as an Olympic stunt.  The question remains -- who is missing a lion, and how did they not notice it had gone walk-about, and report it?  Given that an experienced German zookeeper was just killed by a captive tiger, it seems an obvious concern that there might be an exotic pet owner dead or injured in the vicinity, for a real lion to be on the prowl as distinct from a stuffed giant cat.  The Brits do have the occasional fake giant cat scare where they are slightly less phlegmatic in their response.  We shouldn't be too smug - we have our odd sightings and over-reactive responses as well, just not necessarily to giant exotic cats.  However, since this lion apparently roars, it appears to be the real thing, rather than a 'stuffy'.  Let's hope that this lion is only shot with a tranquilizer gun, unlike some of the bad outcomes of people keeping exotic pets, like this one in Ohio.  Finding the proper balance between freedom to do as we like, including taking risks or enjoying / keeping dangerous property with giving adequate regard to the rights of other individuals as well as our larger population and society, is a subject that with exotic animals parallels so many other public policy and legislative discussions in our society. Personally, as someone who has trained to work with both exotic animals as well as domestic livestock and pets, for the well being of the exotic animals, as well as for reasons of safety, I'm inclined to favor stricter limitations on exotics.



England's coat of arms, pre 1340 and post 1340

Full heraldic arms fo the UK, including a Lion
supporter in sinister (it just means on the left in heraldry)
as well as the English three lions appearing in
two quadrants, and the Scottish lion appearin in a third,
and a lion on the crest

Sorry, but I couldn't resist indulging my heraldry geek; I have esoteric and varied interests, and we can't let conservatives claim they are the only ones who value traditional iconography.  I also couldn't help but notice that despite also contending with terrorist attacks, the UK law enforcement does not routinely carry firearms.

It's so typically stiff-upper-lip Brit to remain unflappable, not even terribly surprised at a lion roaming the neighborhood.

From ITV and NBC news:

Cops hunt lion reportedly on loose near British village

By ITV News and NBC News staff

 

LONDON -- Armed police officers have been deployed in a British village after a member of the public reported seeing a lion roaming in a nearby field.
About 25 officers and a helicopter were seeking signs of the animal near St Osyth, Essex, on Monday. Sky News reported that workers from a local zoo were were also on patrol with tranquilizer guns. Most police officers in the U.K. do not carry firearms on a day-to-day basis.

A statement on the Essex Police website said:

"Residents living in the St Osyth area are being advised to stay indoors after police received reports of a lion being seen in a field.
The large cat, believed to be a lion, was seen in fields off Earls Hall Drive in St Oysth, near Clacton, just before 7pm.
There is an increased police presence in the area, including firearms officers and the police helicopter searching near where it was spotted."

Experts from the nearby Colchester Zoo said they believe the report is genuine after examining a photograph sent in by a member of the public.

Donna Veasey, a spokeswoman for the Essex Police, told ITV News that officers were planning to spend Monday morning looking for signs of an animal, such as pawprints.
Resident Che Kevlin told the BBC that he heard something that "sounded like the roar of a lion" on Sunday night.
"It was worrying as we had just been for a walk with the dog," he added. "We saw the police helicopter but thought it was just searching for a person."
More on this story from ITV News
Officials said all of Colchester Zoo's animals had been accounted for.
Dave Sparks, who runs the Red Lion pub near where the animal was reportedly spotted, described the situation as "quite surreal" but added did not feel like he was in any real danger.
"You don't really expect to be told that a lion is wandering around the area," Sparks told ITV News.
The BBC added:

"The news of a potential lion on the loose has captured the public imagination and three Twitter accounts -- @EssexLion, @TheEssexLion and @Essex_Lion -- were quickly set up."

St Osyth is located about 75 miles northeast of London.
ITV News is NBC's UK partner.

It's fun to break up the monotony of politics and current events now and then.