Hundreds of police officers, assisted by helicopters and professional animal trackers, have been searching since Thursday for a wild animal believed to be a female lion in the southwestern outskirts of Berlin.
(Bloomberg) — Hundreds of police officers, assisted by helicopters and professional animal trackers, have been searching since Thursday for a wild animal believed to be a female lion in the southwestern outskirts of Berlin.
Police called on residents of the city’s Zehlendorf district and surrounding areas to stay inside and avoid nearby forests. “Our colleagues are continuing their search for the wild animal in the south of Berlin and are investigating several tips,” the Berlin police said Friday on Twitter.
Police began the search Thursday morning after two people spotted a large animal the night before in the suburb of Kleinmachnow in Brandenburg. An unverified video circulated on Twitter showing a large animal which the police said resembled a lioness, adding that it considered the situation “credible”.
Authorities have also been investigating where the suspected lioness might have escaped from, and said that neither zoos nor circuses in the area have reported any losses.
One possible lead that featured in German newspapers on Friday morning involved the son of well-known clan boss — from the so-called Remmo clan, a family with a criminal history and ties to the Middle East — who posted a message on Instagram begging the police not to shoot the animal, suggesting it might be his. Firas Remmo’s Instagram account also contains photos which show him taking selfies with a tiger cub on a sofa.
German public news channel RBB reported on Friday morning that 200 police officers from Berlin and Brandenburg have joined the search.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.