FOUR LIONS KILLED IN ARKANSAS

Ark. Town on Edge After Lions Killed

By DOUGLAS PILS

Associated Press Writer

QUITMAN, Ark. (AP)--Lisa Vaughan says her log cabin in the woods was so peaceful that sometimes the only sound that could be heard was the trees swaying in the wind.

Now she's listening for lions.

In the past week, four 600- to 800-pound African lions believed to have some connection to a nearby exotic animal farm have been killed near this central Arkansas town. And residents say the terror may not be over, because no one knows for sure whether more lions are on the loose.

"I had a terrible headache and my blood pressure has been up. ... It's been a long ordeal," said Vaughan, whose husband, Johnny, killed two of the lions with his .30-06 rifle.

"Everybody is scared around here," added neighbor Arvil Skinner. "People have to sit out with a high-powered rifle just to let their kids play in the yard."

"That's just how serious it is. It might be all right and it might not. They might still be out there. We just don't know."

The Vaughans believe the lions belong to animal farm operator Steve Henning, who moved in on the other side of the patch of trees almost a year ago with 11 African lions, 30 tigers, five mountain lions and a lynx.

Henning says the lions killed in the woods were not his. He speculates that someone who tried to give him lions last week turned them loose on the 44-acre property of Safari Unlimited, the lion and tiger farm he operates. The farm is not open to the public, Henning said.

Aside from the pens where Henning keeps his cats, the property is not fully fenced.

Neighbors expressed disbelief over Henning's response.

"That really blows my mind how anyone could believe that story," Lisa Vaughan said.

Henning was not able to give Cleburne County sheriff's deputies or Arkansas Game and Fish officials the name of a person they could track down, authorities said.

"Mr. Henning told us the guy goes by different names and he doesn't know where he lives," Deputy Jack Allen said.

Sheriff Dudley Lemon inspected Safari Unlimited and said he thinks Henning is telling the truth. But he added that believing Henning's story does mean more big cats could be roaming the woods.

Johnny Vaughan said he will be the first to apologize to Henning if it's proven the lions that have been killed didn't belong to him. But he and his neighbors around this town of 700 want local laws amended so that Henning can't keep lions and tigers in their neighborhood.

"We've got to try and pass something to not only protect the people, but to protect the animals," Vaughan said. "It's sad to think that someone can have that many animals but they don't need some sort of license."



AP-NY-09-23-02 1712EDT KFOX 14 El Paso, TX ----

The Log Cabin Democrat of Conway, Arkansas Monday, September 23, 2002

Lions put Quitman into turmoil

Four animals on loose shot to death

QUITMAN (AP) -- Lisa Vaughan moved to Miller Point Road South to relax among the tall trees that surround her family's home.

Lisa and Johnny Vaughan's log-cabin house, complete with green metal roof, sits about a quarter-mile off the road where trees swaying in the wind constitutes noise.

Then came growling lions and tigers, so loud they could be heard over the television.

It got worse Thursday when neighbor Arvil Skinner taped a note to the Vaughans' door:

"Lion went into Lorene's yard at 5:30 (p.m.), a big male lion. Arvil."

That lion was one of four 600-to-800-pound African lions killed near this town in the southwest corner of Cleburne County.

Lions on the loose have been all the noise in this quiet neighborhood since Thursday. Cars and trucks traveling up and down Miller Point Road's dirt surface kick up dust storms and then there's concern over people combing the woods looking for a lion to shoot.

"I had a terrible headache and my blood pressure has been up so I stayed home this morning," said Lisa Vaughan, whose husband is the pastor at Flat Rock General Baptist in Crossroads. "It's been a long ordeal."

The Vaughans know the lions they hear growling -- 11 of them -- belong to Steve Henning, a neighbor on the other side of the swaying trees who moved in almost a year ago. He also has 30 tigers, five mountain lions and a lynx.

No one knows for sure if the four dead lions, two killed by Johnny Vaughan's .30-06 rifle, belong to Henning, who says they're not his.

The former owner of Greenbrier's Safaripark speculates that someone who tried to give him lions on Wednesday turned them loose on Safari Unlimited, a lion and tiger farm he operates on 44 acres leased from Ronald and Sherry Watts.

His neighbors find that idea difficult to believe.

"That really blows my mind how anyone could believe that story," Lisa Vaughan said.

Henning, who could not be reached by telephone Sunday -- and whose property sits behind a locked gate -- was not able to give authorities from the Cleburne County sheriff's office or the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission the name of a person they could track down.

"Mr. Henning told us the guy goes by different names and he doesn't know where he lives," Deputy Jack Allen said.

Because of that, residents fear other lions could be on the loose. Henning said he did not know how many lions the mystery man wanted to give him.

"Everybody is scared around here," Skinner said. "People have to sit out with a high-powered rifle just to let their kids play in the yard. That's just how serious it is. It might be all right and it might not. They might still be out there. We just don't know."

Henning's neighbors are upset that he didn't call the sheriff or the game and fish agency after killing a lion early Thursday morning. They were even more upset that he didn't call after seeing another one around 4:30 p.m. that afternoon.

Skinner said he thinks it was the second lion he saw walking across the road around 5:30.

"If he hadn't seen that lion cross the road, I hate to think where one of those lions might have ended up," Lisa Vaughan said.

Besides Henning, residents are upset at Sheriff Dudley Lemon, who said nothing more than regular patrols would be in the area on Sunday because he didn't have the manpower.

"The sheriff said 'I'm 99.5 percent sure they're no more out there,"' Skinner said. "I said how can he say that when he didn't know how many they had? That just aggravates me."

Lemon inspected Safari Unlimited and he said he thinks Henning is telling the truth. But he added that believing Henning's story does mean more lions could be roaming the woods.

Henning brought the animals from Safaripark in Greenbrier last October or November, according to Sherry Watts. Henning closed the park because of legal proceedings with his business partners and because Faulkner County changed ordinances regarding exotic animals.

Johnny Vaughan said he will be the first to apologize to Henning if it's proven the lions that have been killed didn't belong to him. But he and his neighbors want Cleburne County laws amended so that Henning can't keep the lions and tigers in their neighborhood.