German authorities have warned locals in Berlin’s southern suburbs to stay indoors after reports that a female lion was at large.
A “loose, dangerous animal” was reportedly sighted in the Potsdam region on Thursday morning, said local police. Officers have asked people in and around Kleinmachnow, Teltow and Stahnsdorf not to leave their homes and to bring their pets indoors.
Residents have received messages via warning apps, said Deutsche Welle. They have been advised not to go for walks in the woods and to seek shelter in their houses or cars if they spot the animal.
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A police operation involving a helicopter and thermal imaging cameras is underway with the help of the fire brigade, said The Sun. A man with a rifle has been seen taking part in the search.
Two witnesses reported seeing a big cat running after and killing a wild boar, police spokesman Daniel Kiep told local public broadcaster RBB. Wild boars are “common in and around Berlin”, noted Yahoo News.
Kiep said that the “two gentlemen recorded a smartphone video and even experienced police officers had to confirm that it is probably a lioness”.
He added that nearby zoos, animal parks, circuses and animal sanctuaries had been checked but none of them is missing a female lion. “We don’t know where it came from,” he said.
A video on Twitter – which has not yet been verified – appears to show a big cat in undergrowth, noted Sky News.
Veterinarian Fred Willizkat told Bild that a lion is an “unpredictable” animal, which may lash out at “anything it doesn’t know and that scares it”.
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