A hunt for a suspected lioness has been called off after authorities found no evidence that it was in fact a big cat on the loose - and more likely a boar.
Local police were alerted to the animal in Kleinmachnow, just outside Berlin’s city limits after locals reported a big cat chasing a wild boar, around midnight on Tuesday.
A video later emerged of the suspected lioness in a wooded area sparking a desperate hunt for the animal.
Speaking on Friday, however, Michael Grubert, mayor of the Kleinmachnow area said there was no “acute danger” after experts concluded that it was likely a wild boar and that there was never any lion chasing the animal.
Two experts said independently of each other that “this isn’t a lioness or a wild animal” and that the creature “tends toward a wild boar,” he said, adding that the rounded back and thick legs of the animal shown in the poorly lit video did not fit with it being a lioness.
“We will return to the usual vigilant programme and we think there is no acute danger for Kleinmachnow or for the south of Berlin,” the mayor said, adding that police would be able to step back up straight away if the situation changes.
Extensive searches on Thursday and Friday, found no paw-prints or DNA in the area.
Mr Grubert had told local public broadcaster RBB late on Thursday that authorities would try to comb the forest on Friday with “professional animal track searchers.”
“We have to say that this can’t carry on for days,” he said, adding that he expected the search to “intensify” on Friday.
Police have also used drones, helicopters and infrared cameras to search for the animal, with a vet and hunters also part of the effort.
German armoured police had also joined the hunt in the area with the MailOnline reporting that a 300-horsepower armoured vehicle known as ‘The Survivor’, used in anti-terror operations, is being used.
“The danger of a wild animal in Kleinmachnow justifies the deployment,” the mayor added said, claiming that he would act the same way “if I were in the situation today.”
