Boomer the lion nabbed after a day on the lam in western Quebec

A woman called police shortly after midnight when she spotted the six-month-old, 70-kilogram male lurking in the darkness near a local highway.

The docile feline was reported missing Tuesday night after it escaped from a man's home on the Kitigan Zibi reserve near Maniwaki, about 130 kilometres north of Ottawa.

At 12:45 a.m., officer Chris McConini of the Kitigan Zibi police department located the domesticated animal about 100 metres from where it had disappeared.

"He called out the cat's name and approached him slowly," Kitigan Zibi police chief Gordon McGregor said in an interview.

McGregor said the officer lunged at the spooked animal and grabbed its collar. He quickly tied its legs together.

The chief was not surprised by McConini's confidence at rounding up the cuddly cub with the sharp claws.

"This officer, it takes quite a bit to make him jump," he said.

"He handled it very calmly and with a whole lot of professionalism."

With the help of two Quebec provincial police officers, they wrestled the reluctant beast into the cruiser.

The animal was not aggressive and there were no injuries in the melee, he said.

"It's a big cat, so of course there was a little pushing and shoving that was going on," said McGregor, who estimates the lion is about four feet tall and five feet long.

The feline, which is only beginning to sprout a mane, spent the night locked in the police department's vacant cell block. In the morning, local officers led Boomer out to meet camera crews. He sat quietly and rolled on his back as if he was looking for a tummy scratch.

When McGregor heard the runaway was in custody, he rummaged through his freezer before heading out the door.

"I decided to take some of my best steaks that I had in the house and bring them over to the office," he said.

"He ate them faster than I would."

On Thursday, officials from Quebec's Wildlife Department gave Boomer to a zoo in Granby, east of Montreal.

The zoo's director of animal care said the lion, who is comfortable around humans, was likely hand-fed as a cub.

Alain Fafard told a news conference the cat will probably be quarantined at the zoo for 30 to 40 days, so veterinarians can evaluate its health.

The Granby Zoo is already home to four lions, he added.

A resident of the reserve purchased the animal earlier this week, police said.

The owner, identified by police as Stanley Dumas Whiteduck, helped authorities track the feline after he reported it missing.

McGregor said he was working with provincial police and the Wildlife Department to determine if charges will be laid against Whiteduck.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn Martel of the Wildlife Department said no exotic animal licences had been issued for Boomer.

"If somebody kept this animal without a licence, then for sure there will be a fine for him," Martel told reporters.

Boomer's escape raised fears on Wednesday in the small community.

Local schools and daycare centres were locked down and residents were asked to stay alert.

A helicopter scanned the area and a search party used a heat-detection device in pursuit of the lion.