The search for the alleged lion in Berlin is over. After all, the authorities came to the conclusion that the wild animal must be a wild boar and, therefore, pose no danger to people.
In the middle of the night on Wednesday, police were reanalyzing a video from two men loitering in the Kleinmachno area near the Berlin border. Officials concluded that the silhouette was closer to a wild boar than a lion.
After the new analysis, the mayor of Kleinmachnow told the media that there was “no apparent danger” and that “the clues provided did not lead to any conclusions”. Rather, “according to expert investigation, we think it is not a lion”. As a result, the search operation was called off on Friday afternoon. Berlin can now return to normal.
The mayor also said that during the search, a foul odor was detected in the area where the animal was first spotted. They were collected and sent to the laboratory for analysis. This analysis can confirm which animal was on the loose in Berlin – the results will be known later today or Saturday.
The story was reported to authorities last Wednesday. 2 people thought they saw a wild animal and a video recorded on a cell phone led them to believe it was a lion.
Then a manhunt that lasted for about 30 hours began and 220 police officers were gathered. In addition to human tracks, there were drones, helicopters, thermographic cameras, veterinarians, experts in animal tracks and hunters.
The animal could have been spotted in Kleinmachno, but the high-alert area included the entire southern tip of the German capital.
While the searches took place, people were advised to stay home and keep pets such as dogs or cats indoors. Children were banned from playing outside and local market vendors were also advised not to set up shop.
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