A massive "lion" that sparked an urgent hunt involving armed officers and two police helicopters using heat-seeking equipment is now believed to be a domestic pussycat called Teddy Bear.
Panic and excitement gripped Clacton-on-Sea in Essex at the weekend after a group of residents claimed to have seen a lion at a caravan park in St Osyth.
Armed officers and Colchester Zoo workers armed with tranquiliser guns spent almost 24 hours combing the countryside.
Residents were warned to stay indoors on Sunday night, and caravanners were moved to a nearby garden centre.
But after search teams found no evidence of the fearsome predator, police called off the search on Monday afternoon.
Now it appears the giant man-eater was no more than a large domestic cat, with amused locals already compiling a list of possible suspects.
In the frame is the innocuous-sounding Teddy Bear, a sandy-coloured three-year-old Maine Coon. He often stalks the field where the "lion" was spotted, and has regularly been mistaken for a fox, says his owner Ginny Murphy.
She told the Daily Mail she watched the drama unfold on TV from Liverpool where she was staying, and immediately had her suspicions.
The grainy shot apparently captured a lioness on the prowl in Essex "It clicked right away," she said. "We thought it had to be Ted as he’s the only big gingery thing around there and he does tend to wander into that field."
After looking at the grainy pictures of the "lion" taken by residents and holidaymakers, she said she had no doubt it was her pet.
"There’s no question about it, it’s him. As we were away he probably went into the field to sulk.
"From a distance, because he has a light-coloured mane he does look a little lion like. I can see why someone would think that."
The Maine Coon is one of the biggest breeds of domestic cat, weighing up to 25lb and growing up to 3ft 4in long. A lioness can reach 400lb, and 5ft 9in in length.
Another candidate is a 12-year-old ginger cat called Tom, who lives at an old people's home 200 yards from the sighting.
"I was working here on Sunday and he was definitely out then, so it certainly could have been him," a carer at the home told the Daily Mirror.
Residents are convinced they spotted a "massive" man-eater in Essex "His colouring does mean he looks a bit like a lion, but he's not dangerous.
"He's quite a large, mean-looking tom, but beneath all that he's an affectionate cat who loves having a good stroke."
However, some witnesses are convinced the creature they saw was a lioness.
David and Susan Wright, who photographed the beast from their back garden, said the creature they saw was "massive".
Mrs Wright told Sky News: "I'm convinced it looked like a female lion, definitely. It just went up and down the hedge. We just watched it for about half-an-hour.
"The farmer went into the field and it took flight, went through the hedge into the next field and that's when we lost sight of it."
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