The Hunt Is On For Shorter's Missing Taxidermy Lion

Shorter University is on the hunt for a missing taxidermy lion taken from the university’s welcome center in June.

Over the summer, starting in May, the university worked on renovations and moved the advancement office to the welcome center. For the renovations, the university had to relocate furniture including a collection of taxidermy animals that are housed at the center. Plans were to return the animals once renovations were finished.

The collection of taxidermy African animals was given to the university by a donor years ago. The university put them on display in the welcome center, according to Aleigha Eason, the director of public relations at Shorter University.

“The lion was one of my favorites,” Eason said. “It’s a really cool feature of our university and I’m disappointed it’s missing.”

It was in June, when the animals were being returned to their home that staff first noted the missing feline. Many staffers assumed the lion was just misplaced and decided to keep an eye out for it. It wasn’t until August that they realized the lion wasn’t on campus.

A Rome Police Department report for the stolen item was filed on Tuesday afternoon. Campus Safety Director Bobby Totherow reported to the police that before he filed a report he and the university’s staff attempted to locate the lion on campus.

An officer asked if the lion was being kept in the dorms, Eason said, but the dorms were checked during move-in and the lion wasn’t found.

The missing lion is a large male African lion that is mounted on a wooden stand. The university staff quoted the value of the lion at $4,500.