There was a scare on Wednesday in Kinyana village in Meru county, central Kenya, after villagers believed there was a lion hiding in a flower hedge.
The supposed lion was spotted by a farm hand at a homestead who raised the alarm. The authorities were notified and wildlife wardens summoned.
It turns out the feared big cat was a picture of a lion printed on a plastic shopping bag.
Pictures of it have been doing the rounds on social media:
Funniest story! Apparently, the good people of Mutiribu, in Kiangua, Meru called @kwskenya called on the spotting of a lion hiding in the hedges, fearful for their lives.
The area chief, Cyrus Mbijiwe, told the BBC that the owner of the homestead had last week returned with avocado seedlings in the plastic bag after attending a farmer training session in Muranga town, about 140km (87miles) away.
On arrival, she decided to place the seedlings "in a place where they wouldn’t dry up" and ended up placing the bag between her house and a flower hedge.
On Wednesday afternoon, the farmhand who was returning from cutting grass for livestock noticed what he believed looked like a lion and raised the alarm.
The homestead is about a kilometre from the Mount Kenya National Park.
“Residents came to see what was happening. Many were convinced it was a lion because you couldn’t go near. I also arrived and saw what looked like a lion although I had doubts,” Mr Mbijiwe said.
The homeowner was called and she explained details of the shopping bag and its content - to the relief of the gathered villagers
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has confirmed that its wardens were deployed to the homestead and said it will issue a detailed statement later.
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