BERLIN, July 21 — A wild animal, believed to be a lioness, was on the loose in Berlin’s southern outskirts yesterday, with residents urged to stay indoors as hunters joined police in a major search operation.
Police first issued the alarm in the early hours 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.
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, putting the southwestern suburbs on alert.
Despite a massive operation involving over 100 police officers as well as 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.
It certainly wasn’t the time “to go jogging in the woods”, he added.
The creature was believed not to have strayed far from the Kleinmachnow area where it was first seen, Grubert said.
Hunters and veterinarians were also taking part in the search, as were officers from the neighbouring Berlin police force.
At 5.00pm (11.00pm Malaysian time), Brandenburg police issued an update saying the search would continue through the night if necessary.
Despite numerous tips from citizens, none of the information had led to the animal’s whereabouts so far, it added.
“The operational measures will continue until a risk to the population can be ruled out,” police said.
Residents in the area were advised “to act with appropriate caution and to avoid the adjacent forests”.
No animals missing
It remains unclear where the feline could have come from.
No zoos or circuses have reported any missing big cats, officials said.
Michel Rogall, a circus director in the neighbouring suburb of Teltow who was woken up by police at 2.00am, 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.
The Kleinmachnow municipality decided to keep daycare centres open, but asked staff not to venture out with children.
Traders at a local market were asked not to set up their stalls.
‘Seek shelter’
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 “seek safety immediately and call the police,” Brandenburg police said.
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 shot dead a lion after it escaped from its enclosure in the eastern city of Leipzig and a tranquiliser failed to stop it. — AFP
