More Experts Join Police in 2nd-day Search for Elusive Berlin Animal

Police officers look at a sign as the search continues after police warned the public that a suspected lioness was on the loose, in Zehlendorf, Berlin, Germany July 20, 2023. The sign reads: "Enter at your own risk when it is snowy or icy". REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
Police officers look at a sign as the search continues after police warned the public that a suspected lioness was on the loose, in Zehlendorf, Berlin, Germany July 20, 2023. The sign reads: "Enter at your own risk when it is snowy or icy". REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
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More Experts Join Police in 2nd-day Search for Elusive Berlin Animal

Police officers look at a sign as the search continues after police warned the public that a suspected lioness was on the loose, in Zehlendorf, Berlin, Germany July 20, 2023. The sign reads: "Enter at your own risk when it is snowy or icy". REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
Police officers look at a sign as the search continues after police warned the public that a suspected lioness was on the loose, in Zehlendorf, Berlin, Germany July 20, 2023. The sign reads: "Enter at your own risk when it is snowy or icy". REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

Experts on animal tracks joined the hunt Friday for an elusive and potentially dangerous animal — suspected to be a lioness — spotted on the edge of Berlin as the search stretched into a second day, authorities said.

Police used helicopters, drones and infrared cameras to search for the animal, with a vet and hunters also part of the effort, The Associated Press reported. They were first alerted to the animal in Kleinmachnow, just outside Berlin's city limits, around midnight on Wednesday when people reported what appeared to be a big cat chasing a wild boar.

The informants also provided a video. Based on that and a subsequent sighting of their own, the police concluded that the animal was apparently a lioness. But it proved elusive in the flat, wooded area on the boundary between Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg.

Kleinmachnow Mayor Michael Grubert told local public broadcaster rbb late Thursday that authorities would try to comb the forest on Friday with “professional animal track searchers.”

“We have to say that this can't carry on for days,” he said, adding that he expected the search to “intensify” on Friday.

Police in Brandenburg state tweeted Friday morning that the search was unsuccessful during the night and was continuing. They urged people to call an emergency number if they see the animal.

Police have said that none of the zoos, animal shelters, circuses or other facilities they checked was missing a lioness, and authorities say they have no information on one being privately owned in the area. Grubert says the aim is to catch the animal, if necessary by tranquilizing it.



Severe Storms Batter Greek Islands for a Second Day, with Crete Hardest Hit

An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows the port of Naousa, after a powerful storm which has triggered widespread flooding on the Aegean Sea island of Paros, Greece, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP)
An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows the port of Naousa, after a powerful storm which has triggered widespread flooding on the Aegean Sea island of Paros, Greece, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP)
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Severe Storms Batter Greek Islands for a Second Day, with Crete Hardest Hit

An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows the port of Naousa, after a powerful storm which has triggered widespread flooding on the Aegean Sea island of Paros, Greece, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP)
An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows the port of Naousa, after a powerful storm which has triggered widespread flooding on the Aegean Sea island of Paros, Greece, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP)

Severe storms battered islands in Greece for a second day Tuesday, with Crete experiencing the heaviest rainfall. Authorities on Paros and Mykonos, meanwhile, worked to clear overturned cars and debris following hailstorms and torrential downpours.

On Monday, storms in Paros sent cars floating into the sea and flooded homes and businesses with water and mud. Authorities have requested emergency government assistance to address road and infrastructure damage. Nearby Mykonos also endured hailstorms and powerful winds.

Rescue crews on Crete assisted seven people in vehicles trapped by floodwaters while rockslides and road closures were reported on the island after the storm overnight pushed toward the southeast. The highest rainfall in the previous 24 hours through Tuesday afternoon was recorded near the Cretan port of Chania, according National Observatory of Athens.

Rhodes faced gale-force winds that toppled trees and damaged vehicles.

Schools were closed across multiple islands, and the storms halted or disrupted ferry services.

The severe weather primarily impacted islands in the Cyclades chain in the central Aegean, a popular vacation destination known for its beaches and whitewashed houses.

The storms struck just weeks after a rare earthquake swarm forced thousands to flee Santorini and the nearby islands of Ios, Amorgos, and Anafi.