Handlers hope to lure at-large lion with food

John Bacon; Deborah Sharp; Steve Marshall; Jonathan T. Lovitt

12/17/1997

USA Today

FIRST

Page 03A

In central Florida, where the pretend world of Disney reigns and theme park

attractions abound, Nala the escaped lion seemed a bit too real Tuesday.

"We were worried," says Brenda Karnath, of Kissimmee, where the 450-pound

lion escaped a roadside zoo Monday. "We walked our children to the bus stop."

As dusk fell, officers stopped their helicopter searches for the 3-year-old lion,

which escaped from JungleLand Zoo, an attraction that's about 10 miles from

Walt Disney World along Highway 192.

Nala, named for a Lion King character, is declawed and was born and raised in

captivity. She still has her fangs, so authorities have put tourists and residents on

alert.

"They put food in her cage," said Lt. Rip Stalvey of the Florida Game and Fresh

Water Fish Commission, which had eight officers searching. "Hopefully, she will

get hungry, go in and we will catch a lion."

Nala escaped from her cage when a crew was trying to build a platform so she

could stay dry after rains flooded the area. Startled by the workers, she squeezed

through a narrow opening in the cage, officials said.

Some experts say the lion may pose little risk to humans but is itself exposed to

the dangers of cold weather, cars and the stress of unfamiliar surroundings:

"People are looking at this animal like, `My God! It's going to come eat my

family!' " says Ron Magill, of the Miami MetroZoo. "It's hunkered down

somewhere, feeling pretty miserable."

-- Deborah Sharp and Steve Marshall

UNABOMBER TRIAL: A federal juge in Sacramento scrapped the last round of

jury questioning in the trial of Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczinski, and set

final selection of 12 jurors and six alternates for Monday. Lawyers on both sides

agreed that 83 prospective jurors had been questioned enough. To protect the

anonymity of the panel, each side will exercise its right to summarily dismiss as

many as 23 prospects by jotting juror numbers on slips of paper, and passing

them to the court clerk. Opening arguments are Dec. 29. Kaczynski is accused of

killing a store owner in 1985 and a lobbyist in 1995.-- Jonathan T. Lovitt

RICH GET RICHER: The gap between rich and poor has widened in nearly

every state since the 1970s, a liberal research group says. In 44 states, the richest

20% of families got richer while the poorest 20% got poorer between the late

1970s and the mid-1990s, said the report released by the Center for Budget and

Policy Priorities. In four states, both groups gained income but the rich group

gained more. Only in Alaska and North Dakota did income grow faster for the

poor than the rich. The report is based on data from the Census Bureau, which

has made some similar findings.

PHOTO,b/w,AP