BERLIN: Officials expected on Friday to have a zoologist join the hunt for a rare and endangered animal – believed to be a lioness – spotted on the banks of Berlin as the search continued for a second day.
The police used helicopters, drones and infrared cameras search for animals, and veterinarians and hunters are part of the effort. The animal was first reported in Kleinmachnow, just outside Berlin’s city limits, around midnight on Wednesday when residents reported what appeared to be a large cat chasing a boar.
The informants also provided a video. Based on this and after seeing it for themselves, the officers discovered that the animal was a lioness. But it was difficult in the flat, wooded area on the border of Berlin and the surrounding region of Brandenburg.
Kleinmachnow mayor Michael Grubert told rbb public reporter late Thursday that the authorities will try to involve the forest and “animal research experts.”
“We have to say that this will not happen for days,” he said, adding that he expected the search to “intensify” on Friday.
However, the government said on Friday it had to find an animal welfare expert, German news agency dpa reported. It is also unclear whether the hair found Thursday on the tree will provide evidence that points to the animal.
Police in the state of Brandenburg tweeted on Friday morning that the search was unsuccessful overnight and was continuing. They have asked people to call the emergency number if they see the beast. Police say there are no zoos, zoos, gyms or other facilities they’ve checked for the missing lioness, and authorities say they have no information about a private owner in the area.
Grubert says the goal is to capture the animal, if necessary and tranquilize it.
Not everyone felt that the search was very important. Police spokeswoman Kerstin Schröder told rbb that the youths played loudly the sound of a roaring lion on a Bluetooth device at night. “This does not help the municipality or the police in hunting animals,” he said.
The police used helicopters, drones and infrared cameras search for animals, and veterinarians and hunters are part of the effort. The animal was first reported in Kleinmachnow, just outside Berlin’s city limits, around midnight on Wednesday when residents reported what appeared to be a large cat chasing a boar.
The informants also provided a video. Based on this and after seeing it for themselves, the officers discovered that the animal was a lioness. But it was difficult in the flat, wooded area on the border of Berlin and the surrounding region of Brandenburg.
Kleinmachnow mayor Michael Grubert told rbb public reporter late Thursday that the authorities will try to involve the forest and “animal research experts.”
“We have to say that this will not happen for days,” he said, adding that he expected the search to “intensify” on Friday.
However, the government said on Friday it had to find an animal welfare expert, German news agency dpa reported. It is also unclear whether the hair found Thursday on the tree will provide evidence that points to the animal.
Police in the state of Brandenburg tweeted on Friday morning that the search was unsuccessful overnight and was continuing. They have asked people to call the emergency number if they see the beast. Police say there are no zoos, zoos, gyms or other facilities they’ve checked for the missing lioness, and authorities say they have no information about a private owner in the area.
Grubert says the goal is to capture the animal, if necessary and tranquilize it.
Not everyone felt that the search was very important. Police spokeswoman Kerstin Schröder told rbb that the youths played loudly the sound of a roaring lion on a Bluetooth device at night. “This does not help the municipality or the police in hunting animals,” he said.