WATCH: 'It's not fake.' Trucker captures footage of 'Lion-like animal' prowling forest in Clare

"There is an animal down there that looks like that; it's not a fake video"

A forest manager has insisted that footage of what appears to be a lion-like creature roaming around a woodland in Co Clare is "not a fake video."

In the video, which was captured by a trucker early on Wednesday morning, October 29 and has since gone viral on social media, a large animal with a long tail and what appears to be a dark-coloured mane can be seen trotting towards a forest.

The truck driver, who is recording, beeps the horn at the animal, but it continues walking into the woods and soon disappears, reports Cork Beo.

Speaking to CorkBeo, forest manager John O'Reilly, to whom the video was first sent, said the animal had been spotted moving around the woods over Mount Shannon before the video was captured.

"The animal had been seen before by harvesters working on the site, but it was from a distance, moving through the trees. We assumed it was a deer before the video was captured," he said.

"The video came from a trucker who was hauling timber, and there is a lot of debate as to what it actually is.

"People can make their own mind up when they watch the video. I'm not saying for certain that it is a lion, but it does look to have a mane and a long tail. Some people even think that someone might have shaved their dog as a joke."

A Garda spokesperson told CorkBeo: "Gardaí received report of a large animal in a wooded area in Co. Clare on Wednesday 29th October 2025.

"Enquiries were carried out."

John is of no doubt the video is real and described it as a "legitimate sighting".

"There is an animal down there that looks like that; it's not a fake video."

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