A shopping bag sparked panic in Kenya after it was mistaken for a lion.

A shopping bag was mistaken for a lion

A shopping bag was mistaken for a lion

Residents of Meru County alerted Kenya Wildlife Service about the animal hiding in the bushes on Thursday (05.05.22), but officers got no response as they tried to lure the suppose big cat from its hideout.

The 'lion' turned out to be a shopping bag placed by a homeowner who had put avocado seedlings in to prevent them from drying out. This gave the bag, which had a lion's picture on it, a 'filled up' look and residents feared that it was an animal's head peering through the bushes.

Kenya Wildlife Service praised the public for their alertness in the incident, even though it turned out to be a false alarm.

It said: "Despite this being a false alarm, we laud the public for raising an alarm in order to mitigate a possible conflict."