Seated in the back of a white open-top Bentley, a lion cub was spotted going on a joyride in the streets of Pattaya, Thailand, in January 2024.

In a video making the rounds on social media on Jan 21, the calm cub – wearing a fluorescent yellow collar – was seen cruising down the streets of the popular tourist destination while onlookers gazed, bewildered.

The video has chalked up 36,100 likes as at Jan 24.

While netizens expressed their amusement over the video, some questioned whether owning such an exotic animal is legal in Thailand.

Local media Thai PBS World reported on Jan 23 that a Thai woman has been identified as the owner of the cub, and that the person behind the wheel was her friend.

Mr Atthaphon Charoenchansa, the director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation, said the woman, identified as Ms Sawangjit Kosoongnern, was legally allowed to keep the lion in Ratchaburi province, west of Bangkok.

She had requested the department for permission to move the cub to Pattaya in Chonburi province but approval has yet to be granted.

Therefore, Ms Sawangjit has violated laws concerning the taking of a wild animal out in public and relocating it without prior permission, said Mr Atthaphon. He added that she could be jailed for up to six months, fined up to 50,000 Thai baht (S$1,875), or both.

Local media previously reported that the Thai National Parks Department was investigating a foreign man who was spotted driving the luxury car through the streets of Pattaya with the animal in the back.

Mr Atthaphon had said officials were trying to identify the owner of the lion to check the ownership documentation, according to The Pattaya News.

In the Chonburi province, there are currently only four individuals and one zoo that have legally declared their ownership of 15 lions in total, the news outlet said.

Ownership of exotic animals like lions is legal in Thailand, but they need to be registered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the South China Morning Post reported.

Local media also reported that residents in the area said they have repeatedly spotted a foreign man driving around with a lion cub in his Bentley.

He usually takes the animal to Dongtan beach, they said, before going back home in the evening.