Police continue hunt for 'lioness' on the loose around Berlin
A wild animal, believed to be a lioness, was on the loose in Berlin's southern outskirts on Thursday and Friday, with residents urged
to stay indoors as hunters joined police in a major search operation.
The search continued on Friday, and concentrated in the southwest Berlin neighbourhood of Zehlendorf, where there were reports of a possible spotting.
By Friday morning, 120 police officers and professional animal trackers had joined in on the efforts to find the animal.
Police first issued the alarm in the early hours of Thursday morning after two people saw what appeared to be a lioness chasing a wild boar down a street less than five kilometres from the German capital.
The two passersby spotted the feline around midnight in the Kleinmachnow suburb, southwest of Berlin.
READ ALSO: What to know about Germany's wild boars - and how to stay safe around them
They shared mobile phone footage of the animal with police, who believe the images are genuine, Kleinmachnow mayor Michael Grubert told a press conference.
The animal was later also spotted by police officers themselves, said Kerstin Schroeder, police spokeswoman in the Brandenburg region around Berlin.
Brandenburg police issued a warning to the public about the beast's presence, initially putting the southwestern suburbs on alert and then expanding the area of the search.
Despite a massive operation involving dozens of police officers, drones, helicopters and thermal-imaging cameras, there was still no sign of the animal by Thursday afternoon.
Mayor Grubert urged residents to keep heeding police advice "not to leave the house if possible", and to keep pets indoors as well.
It certainly wasn't the time "to go jogging in the woods", he added.
Given the lack of confirmed new sightings, the creature is believed to have not strayed far from the Kleinmachnow area where it was first seen, Grubert said.
Hunters and veterinarians are also taking part in the search, as are officers from the neighbouring Berlin police force.
No animals missing
It remains unclear where the feline could have come from.
No zoos or circuses have reported any missing big cats, Grubert said.
Michel Rogall, a circus director in the neighbouring suburb of Teltow who was woken up by police at 2:00 am, said that the animal might not be a lion at all.
"If it's a lion, I'll eat my broom," he told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.
Mayor Grubert said the Kleinmachnow municipality had decided to keep daycare centres open, but asked caregivers not to venture out with children.
Vendors at a local market were asked not to set up their stalls. Grubert added that he was "very, very happy" that it was the school holidays, so they didn't have to worry about children walking to and from school.
'Stay back'
Thorsten Thaddey was out for a morning jog in Kleinmachnow when he was stopped by police, who told him a wild animal might be roaming the nearby forest.
"I have to be honest, I panicked a bit. Because it's a different calibre compared to a normal dog or another pet that has run away," he told AFP. "So I'm going to run home now."
Once the animal is found, it will likely be sedated with a tranquiliser and taken to an animal shelter, the mayor said.
Anyone crossing paths with the feline should "stay back, look for shelter and call the police under the 110 emergency number," said Grubert.
It's not the first time Germans have been told to be on the lookout for wild animals on the loose.
In May, residents in the central German city of Erfurt were jolted by the sight of a kangaroo hopping across a busy road after escaping from a private property.
In 2019, it took several days for a deadly cobra to be recaptured in the western town of Herne, where residents had been told to keep their windows closed and steer clear of tall grass.
In 2016, German zookeepers had to shoot dead a lion after it escaped from its enclosure in the eastern city of Leipzig and a tranquiliser failed to stop it.
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The search continued on Friday, and concentrated in the southwest Berlin neighbourhood of Zehlendorf, where there were reports of a possible spotting.
By Friday morning, 120 police officers and professional animal trackers had joined in on the efforts to find the animal.
Police first issued the alarm in the early hours of Thursday morning after two people saw what appeared to be a lioness chasing a wild boar down a street less than five kilometres from the German capital.
The two passersby spotted the feline around midnight in the Kleinmachnow suburb, southwest of Berlin.
READ ALSO: What to know about Germany's wild boars - and how to stay safe around them
They shared mobile phone footage of the animal with police, who believe the images are genuine, Kleinmachnow mayor Michael Grubert told a press conference.
The animal was later also spotted by police officers themselves, said Kerstin Schroeder, police spokeswoman in the Brandenburg region around Berlin.
Brandenburg police issued a warning to the public about the beast's presence, initially putting the southwestern suburbs on alert and then expanding the area of the search.
Despite a massive operation involving dozens of police officers, drones, helicopters and thermal-imaging cameras, there was still no sign of the animal by Thursday afternoon.
Mayor Grubert urged residents to keep heeding police advice "not to leave the house if possible", and to keep pets indoors as well.
It certainly wasn't the time "to go jogging in the woods", he added.
Given the lack of confirmed new sightings, the creature is believed to have not strayed far from the Kleinmachnow area where it was first seen, Grubert said.
Hunters and veterinarians are also taking part in the search, as are officers from the neighbouring Berlin police force.
No animals missing
It remains unclear where the feline could have come from.
No zoos or circuses have reported any missing big cats, Grubert said.
Michel Rogall, a circus director in the neighbouring suburb of Teltow who was woken up by police at 2:00 am, said that the animal might not be a lion at all.
"If it's a lion, I'll eat my broom," he told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.
Mayor Grubert said the Kleinmachnow municipality had decided to keep daycare centres open, but asked caregivers not to venture out with children.
Vendors at a local market were asked not to set up their stalls. Grubert added that he was "very, very happy" that it was the school holidays, so they didn't have to worry about children walking to and from school.
'Stay back'
Thorsten Thaddey was out for a morning jog in Kleinmachnow when he was stopped by police, who told him a wild animal might be roaming the nearby forest.
"I have to be honest, I panicked a bit. Because it's a different calibre compared to a normal dog or another pet that has run away," he told AFP. "So I'm going to run home now."
Once the animal is found, it will likely be sedated with a tranquiliser and taken to an animal shelter, the mayor said.
Anyone crossing paths with the feline should "stay back, look for shelter and call the police under the 110 emergency number," said Grubert.
It's not the first time Germans have been told to be on the lookout for wild animals on the loose.
In May, residents in the central German city of Erfurt were jolted by the sight of a kangaroo hopping across a busy road after escaping from a private property.
In 2019, it took several days for a deadly cobra to be recaptured in the western town of Herne, where residents had been told to keep their windows closed and steer clear of tall grass.
In 2016, German zookeepers had to shoot dead a lion after it escaped from its enclosure in the eastern city of Leipzig and a tranquiliser failed to stop it.
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