Have… have they ever seen a lion?
PublishedNovember 6, 2025 2:50 PM EST•UpdatedNovember 6, 2025 2:28 PM EST
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When I was a kid, I was obsessed with cryptozoology, and that included a phenomenon known as “phantom animals.” In short, this was just regular animals showing up in places where they normally wouldn’t be found.Â
Like if a tiger was spotted roaming around Schenectady — boom — phantom tiger.
Sure, maybe a Ringling Bros. tiger just made a run for it, but doesn’t “phantom tiger” just sound super badass?
We’ve got a phantom animal story coming to us from Ireland, and it had one of those simple explanations.Â
Even simpler than a circus animal on the lam, if you can believe it.
Now, I’m not sure how up to speed you are on the fauna of the Emerald Isle… but lions aren’t usually cruising around over there.
So, you might understand why there was some concern when a truck driver captured this video.
I mean… that looks at the very least lion adjacent, right?
According to UPI, the video — along with several other sightings — was enough to get Gardaà (Irish national police) in the town of Killaloe to open an investigation.
“The animal had been seen before by harvesters working on the site, but it was from a distance, moving through the trees,” forest manager John O’Reilly told CorkBeo. “We assumed it was a deer before the video was captured.”
Fortunately, folks in the area didn’t have to be on edge too long about a gigantic feline roaming the area, because it didn’t take long to identify the animal.
Which wasn’t a cat, but a dog.
A big, friendly one named Mouse, who also happened to have a nice, crisp haircut.
I can kind of see how you would make the mistake, but… do people not realize how big a lion is? They’re huge.Â
This dog isn’t even that big. I mean, he’s no teacup poodle, but he’s far from the biggest I’ve ever seen.
Not even close.
In fairness, if you were walking around in Ireland and thought you bumped into a lion, you might have a hard time gauging how big it is, too.