KEY POINTS:
A large feline has tongues wagging in one Northland town.
A lion sighting in the hills above Parker Lime Company Quarry has sparked gossip, rumours and amusement in Kaiwaka, halfway between Waipu and Wellsford.
The cat was spotted on a ridge above the quarry by fire officer Allan Swanson and his son Carl, who were taking part in a search-and-rescue exercise in Gibbons Rd in late May.
Louise Owens, of Jaques Four Square, said news that a lion might be prowling the hills above Kaiwaka came as a surprise to her and her customers - a Sunday newspaper story was the first most people had heard of it.
Ms Owens said motorists passing through were stopping and asking: "Is this the town with the lion?"
Up the road at Shamrock Service Station, Adrienne Bregmen said townsfolk were surprised by the reports.
"People are quite astounded," she said.
Mrs Bregmen didn't know if anyone was planning to head into the hills to search for the big cat but she expected the rumours to continue for a while yet.
She said the other people who said they had seen the lion, chief fire officer John Bowmar and quarry boss Scott Parker, were "high, upstanding members of the community".
John Bowmar said his phone hadn't stopped ringing since 6.30am yesterday.
"There's definitely something weird going on in Kaiwaka. That's all I can say."
Mr Bowmar said the news had sparked a flurry of text messages.
They were mainly along the lines of: "I told you not to feed your cat so much".
Years ago, a minister claimed he saw a lion while out duck shooting and "turned tail and ran" to his car.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE
