A driver in northern Kazakhstan got quite a shock on Monday morning when he noticed a live lion locked in the car parked next to him in a parking lot, local authorities in the Kazakh town of Kostanai said on Wednesday.

The lion, which had reportedly spent the entire night in the car park, had been abandoned by a local businessman, who bought the big cat for his private zoo, local media said.

"The lion was left in the parking lot because its owner returned late from his trip. The cage containing the predator was locked, and the lion was calm," a local interior ministry spokesman was quoted by media reports as saying.

The businessman bought the lion at a zoo in the central Kazakh city of Karaganda, he said, adding that the lion has since been moved to his new home at the businessman's zoo.

ASTANA, August 25 (RIA Novosti)