Five Arrested for Trying to Steal Lion Carcass in Ohio

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Five men were charged Monday with trying to steal a lion's carcass in Ohio.

The group had loaded the body of the lion into a Jeep when they were arrested, WOIO-TV reported. The animal was one of dozens shot dead by sheriff's deputies after exotic zoo owner Terry Thompson opened the animals' cages and killed himself last month.

The men, aged 17 to 21, each face one misdemeanor count of theft.

Sheriff Matt Lutz said in the days after the incident in Zanesville that individuals who tried to steal one of the dead animals had been arrested.

In another sign of morbid interest in the exotic creatures, the sheriff said he received many calls about what would happen to the carcasses, including calls from "people that would like to take these animals to taxidermists."