Lioness on the loose in Berlin sparks warning for people and their pets to stay inside

German police are advising people and their pets to stay indoors following reports of a lioness on the loose in Berlin.

Police, who believe the animal is an escaped pet, were first alerted around midnight by members of the public who recorded what appeared to be a wild boar and a lion chasing each other.

‘Even experienced officers had to conclude that it was probably a lioness,’ a police spokesperson told local broadcaster RBB.

Authorities believe the wild cat could currently be asleep in one of the many lakeland forests in Brandenburg, the state that surrounds Germany’s capital.

Hunters and vets have been roped into helping track down the animal as police use a helicopter and thermal imagery overhead. 

Residents in the towns of Kleinmachnow, Teltow and Stahnsdorf, and those in southern Berlin, have all been advised not to leave their homes. 

Video on Twitter appeared to show a lioness wandering through foliage in Kleinmachnow

Police officers take part in the search for an a wild animal on the loose, reportedly a lioness in Stahnsdorf, south-west of Berlin on July 20, 2023

Hunters and vets are reportedly helping track down the animal in Germany

A police spokesperson was forced to admit: ‘We don’t know where it came from.’ 

Since no zoos or circuses have reported a missing lioness, police believe she must be an escaped pet. 

An operation to track it down using two helicopters, drones and infrared cameras was expanded in the early hours of Thursday as a hundred police officers joined forces with hunters and vets. 

They would aim to tranquilise and capture the animal and only kill her if she posed a danger to people, Gruber said, adding that the search was now concentrated in the municipality’s northeastern part. 

Police began their search at midnight and were still searching for the animal this morning.

The lioness was spotted through the night walking through the undergrowth near Kleinmachnow.

Brandenburg Police wrote on Twitter at 2:15am: ‘Please avoid leaving the house due to an escaped wild animal in the Kleinmachnow, Teltow & Stahnsdorf (PM) area and also bring your pets into the house. 

‘Our colleagues are on site and checking the situation.’

They sent an update at 6:23am: ‘The escaping wild animal has NOT been found yet! We still ask you not to leave the house. 

‘If you see the animal, please call the emergency number 110!’ 

A Police helicopter takes part in the search for an a wild animal on the loose, reportedly a lioness in Stahnsdorf, south-west of Berlin on July 20, 2023

German police were still out looking for the escaped lion – not sure where it came from – today

Police patrol during a search for a escaped lion near the village of Kleinmachnow in the south of in Berlin, Germany, 20 July 2023

Animal rights groups criticised successive governments for failing to ban the practice of keeping wild animals as pets.

‘Over the past two decades there have been repeated cases of big escaping from homes and circuses,’ said Peter Hoeffken of rights group PETA. 

‘Despite countless warnings, politicians have failed to ban the keeping of exotic wildlife.’

Circus-keeper Michel Ramon Rogall told Reuters there was no circus with wild animals currently on the road in eastern Germany, ‘and they wouldn’t escape either (if there was).’