Animal sanctuary takes in lion cub bought by reporter

The reporter wanted to demonstrate how easy it is to buy a wild animal.
& lt;a href=mailto:sinkovich@vindy.com & gt;By PEGGY SINKOVICH & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BERLIN CENTER -- Noah's Lost Ark sanctuary has received its second news-making wild animal and plans to keep him, its director says.
The sanctuary has received two wild cats in the past week -- one from New York and the other delivered by a New York news reporter.
An 8-day-old lion cub named Boomerang was brought to the sanctuary, 8424 Bedell Road, Sunday morning by a reporter from the New York Post.
The lion cub arrived a week after Ming, a tiger taken from a Manhattan apartment, was brought to the facility.
"I couldn't believe that reporters would stoop to this level for a story," said Ellen Whitehouse, center director, noting the cub was ill.
The cub was bought for $1,000 somewhere in Ohio, according to Vernon Weir, of the American Sanctuary Association.
A Post reporter had contacted Weir last week and told him the newspaper wanted to show how easy it is for anyone to buy wild animals, Weir said. A statement from a Post spokesman said the animal was cared for and not harmed during its time with the reporter.
"The reporter wanted to call attention to the pending New York legislation that seeks to ban the private possession of these animals and the pending federal bill that would prevent their interstate transport," Weir said. "The reporter wanted to make sure that there would be a safe place for the cub to live if he was able to purchase one."
The reporter, Weir said, had been told the cub could stay at Shambala Preserve, an 80-acre habitat northeast of Los Angeles.
Attempts to buy a lion or tiger cub on the Internet didn't work, so Weir suggested the reporter travel to Ohio.
"You can buy anything you want in Ohio," said Weir, of Nevada. "At this point none of us, including the reporter, knew that he would be able to buy an 8-day-old cub. Who would have thought that would occur? That is disgusting."
What reporter was told
The reporter was told that the cub's sister had already been sold and that if they didn't buy the cub it would be sold to the next person who offered to buy it.
"The reporter was really worried about the cub's welfare and knew that if he bought it the cub would have a safe life at Shambala," Weir said.
He noted that he contacted Whitehouse on Saturday and told her the reporter was trying to buy a cub.
"I also tried to reach her Sunday morning to tell her that the 8-day cub was purchased and would be coming there until it could be shipped to us," Weir said. "I wasn't able to reach her and she hasn't called me back."
Weir said he is still hoping the cub will be sent to Shambala.
"Boomerang is staying here forever," Whitehouse said Monday. She said she called the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department because she didn't want the reporters to take the animal.
Donations to help pay for Boomerang's care can be made be at Farmers National Bank of Canfield, 20 S. Broad St.
Noah's Lost Ark is a licensed facility that takes abused and neglected exotic animals and warns that wild animals can't be tamed.
Funds are also needed to build an enclosure to house Ming. Donations are tax-deductible.
Whitehouse said the big cats require about 425 pounds of meat each day. Food for all the animals is paid for through donations and admissions.
Noah's Lost Ark, an all-volunteer organization, has about 125 exotic animals. The safe haven is open to the public weekends from May 1 through Oct. 31.