Huge lion and its cub are on the loose in INDIANA

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy ANNA WRIGHT, US REPORTER Published: 02:25 BST, 28 August 2026 | Updated: 02:51 BST, 28 August 2026

Indiana police are searching for a lion and its cub after they received reports of the wild animals roaming loose. Officials are on high alert in Hancock and Madison counties after receiving calls about potential sightings of the big cats on Thursday.A homeowner phoned 911 at around 10am after they spotted what appeared to be a 300 pound lioness from their window near the 10000 block of South County Road 50 West. The resident added that the big cat was wearing a blue harness as it prowled southwest of their home.A smaller cub was reportedly seen trotting alongside the lioness. '[The witness] got some binoculars, took a closer look and saw the harness on the [mother],' Sheriff John Beeman told WXIN-TV.'He watched it until it left his property moving southwest,' the sheriff added.The sheriff’s department also said a drone operator spotted the animals from above, confirming the sighting. After a thorough four-hour search, police said they came up empty-handed and did not spot the wild cats. Indiana police are searching for a lion and its cub after they received reports of the wild animals roaming loose (stock) Madison County Sheriff's Department. Officials are on high alert in Hancock and Madison counties after receiving calls about potential sightings of the big catsOfficers added that they used ground units and thermal drones in the search, but despite this, no lions were found.'We did sight some large animals that turned out to be livestock,' Beeman said. The sheriff said the area’s thick woods and sprawling corn and bean fields could give the big cats plenty of places to hide. So far, no animal sanctuaries have reported any missing animals.The sheriff’s department said it is not aware of any permits allowing a lion to be kept in the county.Authorities still don’t know where the lions came from. Sheriff Beeman said they may have been illegally kept as pets or escaped while being transported through the state.'According to the USDA, we have no known approved license holders in the area, but that doesn’t mean anything,' he told the outlet.The search was suspended Thursday evening.