UPDATE: Braam ‘movie star’ lion, Colombus, from Lion Park

UPDATE: 13 April 2016, 11:30am –  The lion park has confirmed that the lion spotted in Braamfontein belongs to them and he was being used for a locally produced movie.

According to reports, it is believed the lion is named Colombus and this is not his first taste of stardom as he appeared in the movie Blended and numerous adverts.

Those who were involved in the production, took to social media to confirm that it was a movie production as well:

UPDATE: 12 April 2016, 3pm – The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has announced that any activity in the city that would require road closures last night was not approved by the company.

JRA was contacted in an attempt to find out if a movie, starring a fully-grown lion, was being filmed in the city and whether producers were given clearance by the company to close off roads in the area.

Zanta Myeza of the roads agency confirmed that there was no approval of the road closure with JOC (Joint Operations Committee). “We sit down with the JOC to get all the people who are involved into the same room – including the JMPD – to see if we all agree on something like that taking place,” he said.

He confirmed that there was no application submitted for road closures in Braamfontein for the night of 11 April and said, “The people who were there were taking chances.”

He also mentioned that no action could be taken against the team who closed the roads without approval unless they were caught in the act.

Scroll down to view reactions on twitter regarding the lion spotting.

INITIAL REPORT: 12 April 2016, 8am – Twitter has been buzzing with the news of a lion running rampant in the streets of Braamfontein around 11pm on 11 April.

Since the pictures were captured social media users have kept the hashtag #Braam trending for more than seven hours, posing a number of questions and posting a number of meme’s about the lion in the city.

One of the two pictures posted of the lion show the wild animal climbing on the boot of a stationary vehicle outside the Braamfontein Nando’s fast food outlet.

It has been suggested by users on the online platform that the lion was part of a movie that was being shot in the city – presumably late at night so as not to interfere with people in the city and commuter routes.

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The speculation can be backed up by the picture which shows that the area was fenced off; confirming that the lion was placed in the city in a controlled environment.

What looks to be camera and filming equipment can also be seen on the right side of the photo.

Check out what the Twitterverse had to say:

There has not yet been mention of which movie could have been filmed in Braamfontein last night, but we definitely want to see the end product!

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