  Inelastic neutron scattering (INS), electron spin (ESR) and nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR) measurements were employed to establish the origin of the
strong magnetic signal in lightly hole-doped La_{1-x}Sr_xCoO_3, x=0.002. Both,
INS and ESR low temperature spectra show intense excitations with large
effective g-factors ~10-18. NMR data indicate the creation of extended magnetic
clusters. From the Q-dependence of the INS magnetic intensity we conclude that
the observed anomalies are caused by the formation of octahedrally shaped
spin-state polarons comprising seven Co ions.
