German authorities are expecting an animal track expert on Friday to join a second day of searches for the allegedly dangerous wild cat, suspected to be a lioness, sighted outside Berlin. Until now, police have resorted to using helicopters, drones, infrared cameras, vets and hunters to search for the animal.
The animal was sighted in Kleinmachnow, on the outskirts of the city of Berlin, around midnight on Wednesday. People described it as a “big cat” chasing a wild boar and also provided video to authorities. Based on that video and another sighting, police concluded that the animal appears to be a lioness.
However, the animal has yet to be found in the flat, wooded area on the border between Berlin and the neighboring state of Brandenburg.
Kleinmachnow mayor Michael Grubert told German public broadcaster RBB on Thursday that authorities would try to comb the forest with “professionals looking for animal tracks”.
“This cannot last days,” acknowledged Michael Grubert, quoted by the AP news agency, adding that he expected the searches to “intensify” this Friday.
This morning, the Brandenburg State Police revealed on Twitter that the searches were unsuccessful overnight and will therefore continue. People were also asked to call the emergency number if they see the animal.
It’s unclear where the lioness fled: Police have already contacted every zoo, circus and animal shelter in the city, and none have confirmed any animals are missing. A spokeswoman for the Kleinmachnow municipality, which has about 20,000 residents, says kindergarten children are not allowed out into nearby gardens and market vendors have been ordered not to set up the usual stalls.
However, not everyone takes the search seriously. Police spokeswoman Kerstin Schröder told RBB that some youngsters played a loud recording of lion roars on a bluetooth device overnight.
“This does not help either the municipality or the police in the search for the animal,” warned Kerstin Schröder.
Source: TSF
