A police operation involving helicopters and hundreds of officers was launched in Berlin spent the night looking for an animal — believed to be an escaped lion — that had not been found until Thursday morning.
Authorities advise residents on the southwestern edge of German who stayed indoors and locked their pets while the hunt for the big cat continued. A spokesman for Brandenburg Police said: “We are currently studying the assumption that the animal was a lioness. Reuters.
Early Thursday, agency warning Locals in the towns of Kleinmachnow, Teltow and Stahnsdorf had to stay in their homes due to the threat from “an escaped wild animal”. Hours later, law enforcement issued a update to say the animal is “NOT found” and repeat the advice to stay indoors. The public is also encouraged to call an emergency line if they see the beast.
Traders were also asked not to set up stalls at the weekly town market in Kleinmachnow, according to the report. Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, with the local council confirming that daycare centers will be open as normal, but children will not be allowed into outdoor play areas. The newspaper also said a local resident filmed a lioness eating a wild animal around midnight, but police lost track of it later. Authorities believe the predator is sleeping somewhere in the wooded area.
“It was no ordinary cat,” a police spokesman told local media. “If a lioness goes to Germany, it must be recorded.”
Exactly where the lion first escaped remains unclear. “We simply don’t know where it came from,” the spokesperson added. Initial online reports suggested that it may have escaped from a circus, but authorities said they had checked circuses as well as zoos, animal parks and animal sanctuaries, and nowhere had a lion been missed.
During the search, several hunters armed with anesthetic guns were sent to Stahnsdorf and Kleinmachnow, Quote tabloid. Veterinarians have also been tasked with the manhunt, with police hoping to capture the cat by non-lethal means. A spokesman for the Potsdam-Mittelmark district – where the search is taking place – said that may not be possible. “That will be decided depending on the situation,” she said Quote.
