Search for lioness in Berlin: “It can’t go on like this for days”

This was announced by the mayor of Kleinmachnow, Michael Grubert (SPD), on Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB). Among other things, the animal – presumably a lioness – is said to have been sighted in his community. “It can’t go on like this for days,” said Grubert, referring to the large-scale police operation.

The police in Brandenburg and Berlin continued to search on Friday night. In the south of the capital, around 220 police officers were on duty in the area where there were possible sightings on Thursday. Veterinarians and the city hunter were also involved. Night vision goggles and a night vision drone should be used. The operation focused on the Zehlendorf area, where the animal may have been seen.

“We watch the forests, but we don’t go into them anymore,” said a spokesman for the German Press Agency at night. “Our colleagues will remain on site at night and will continue the search tomorrow morning,” the Berlin police tweeted shortly before midnight. Around 70 emergency services continued to secure the affected area. In daylight, drones should then be used again for the search, it said.

At the same time, the police in Brandenburg continued their search at night. A police spokesman said in the evening that several groups were out at night. “We follow every lead.” According to the police, more than 100 officers were on duty that day.

The police said there were repeated reports from citizens to the police and the responsible regulatory office. These would be systematically checked. So far, however, “none of the clues have led to the finding of the wild animal being sought”.

Investigators believe the video is genuine

The warning reached the population south of Berlin on Thursday night: A free-roaming big cat is said to have been sighted in Kleinmachnow in Brandenburg. A few seconds of cell phone video from a witness shows an animal sneaking around between bushes and trees. The investigating authorities consider the video to be genuine. Police officers also saw the cat “secured” during the night, said a spokeswoman for the authorities.

There were other possible sightings in the afternoon and evening in the Berlin city area, near the southern border with Brandenburg. The Berlin police therefore concentrated their search on the area in Zehlendorf around the long Königsweg. Potsdam also called on residents to be vigilant: “Open your eyes! Potsdam is not far away,” the city said on Twitter.

Expert expresses doubts

At first, however, there was no trace: neither blood, nor faeces, nor paw prints indicated the presence of the animal in the region. From the point of view of the veterinarian Achim Gruber from the Free University of Berlin, as he said in the RBB special, doubts remain as to whether it is really a lioness. He bet on the hunting dogs that were looking for the animal. If they don’t find any traces, this is “a strong piece of the puzzle” against the hypothesis that you are dealing with a lioness.

Nobody misses a lioness

But if it is actually a lioness, the question remains: where does she come from? At least not from the zoos, animal parks and circuses in this region, as the police found out during the night. Nobody missed a big cat there. According to Mayor Grubert, private owners are not known in Kleinmachnow.