Lion on the loose in North Georgia?

A North Georgia woman claims she spotted a lion in her neighborhood.

Hillary Hamilton of Murrayville told AccessNorthGa.com that she saw the big cat near her house about 8:30 Wednesday morning as she was leaving for work.

“I looked over there and I thought ‘what is that over there?’” she told the Web site.

Hamilton described it as “an animal the size of calf with a long tail on it, three to four feet long … and it was definitely a lion.”

“Hamilton said it was definitely not a coyote or fox. “No, no, no, no, no, no,” she said, “we have those in the area and I know what they look like.”

Hamilton said the animal “kept looking back at me and wagging its tail.” She said the animal walked into the woods toward a creek and she lost sight of it.

Sheriff’s office spokesman Jeff Strickland told AccessNorthGa.com that deputies searched the area but found nothing. They also checked a game preserve about five miles from the scene but all the animals there were accounted for.

Murrayville is in Hall County, about 10 miles southeast of Dahlonega.