NOAH'S LOST ARK Activist: Transfer lion cub to Calif.

The director of Noah's Lost Ark says the cub will not be leaving her facility.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BERLIN CENTER -- An animal activist who says he is the owner of a lion cub brought to Noah's Lost Ark sanctuary wants the animal to be transferred to a preserve out west.
Bill Long of Columbus said he was with a New York Post reporter when the animal was bought.
The reporter was working on a story about how easy it is to buy exotic animals and asked Long for help. Long was with the reporter and was the one who signed the papers to buy the 3-pound cub.
"It was my understanding that when the cub was purchased that he would be sent to Shambala, which is one of the best sanctuaries," Long said. "The cub was to be brought to Noah's Lost Ark until it was old enough to travel to California."
Shambala Preserve is an 80-acre habitat northeast of Los Angeles.
"I will be sending a letter to Noah's Lost Ark telling them that I want the cub to go to Shambala," Long said. "I want what is best for the cub."
The director of Noah's Lost Ark, however, said the cub is not leaving her facility.
"He is not getting this baby," said Ellen Whitehouse. "They are upset that I didn't want to go along with their plot. They are upset and they are threatening me. But there is no way they are getting this baby."
Treated by veterinarian
The cub, which is now called Boomerang, was ill when brought to the sanctuary, 8424 Bedell Road, on Sunday by the Post reporter. Long was not with the reporter Sunday, Whitehouse said.
Whitehouse had the cub examined and treated by a veterinarian.
The cub is now doing better, she said.
The cub was bought for $1,000 somewhere in Ohio, according to Vernon Weir of the American Sanctuary Association.
"If the cub is sick it is because of the way he was kept by the breeder," Weir said. "The reporter had the animal for too little time to make him sick. At no time did the New York Post reporter act in a way that could be considered to be clandestine or irresponsible toward this little cub."
The lion cub arrived a week after Ming, a tiger taken from a Manhattan apartment, was brought to the facility.
Donations to help pay for Boomerang's care can be made at Farmers National Bank, 20 S. Broad St. in Canfield. Funds are also needed to build an enclosure to house Ming. Donations are tax-deductible.
Noah's Lost Ark is a licensed facility that takes abused and neglected exotic animals. The all-volunteer organization has about 125 exotic animals and is open to the public weekends from May 1 through Oct. 31.
sinkovich@vindy.com