
Police and firefighters were desperately hunting for a tiger on the loose near Paris Thursday after a local resident spotted the fearsome animal in a car park and sounded the alert, authorities said.
Backed up by a helicopter overhead, firefighters armed with tranquilising guns combed the area in the Seine-et-Marne district near the French capital.
Authorities ordered residents to stay inside and children were kept at school, as several people came forward saying they had seen the tiger on the prowl.
"We have been running after it since this morning, police officers are trying to intercept it," a police source said.
Town hall official Cedric Tartaud-Gineste told AFP: "We are calling on inhabitants to be careful, not to leave their houses and to stay in their vehicles."
"Anyone who sees the tiger should call the police or the fire service," he added.
He said that a security perimetre covering an area about the size of four or five football pitches had been set up around a wooded area near the small town of Montevrain, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Paris.
A woman spotted the animal in a supermarket car park in Montevrain on Thursday morning.
"My wife saw it this morning," Jean-Baptiste Berdeaux, who manages the Intermarche supermarket, told AFP.
"She didn't get out of the car and called me to say 'I think I saw a lynx'," he said, adding she took a photo of the animal and the couple then alerted nearby police officers.
An AFP reporter on the scene saw a dozen or so fire engines and police vehicles lined up near the supermarket.
Authorities said they were hoping to catch the animal alive.
"If it's possible, we'll try and put it to sleep. If it becomes dangerous or aggressive, the order will be given to kill it," police said.
It is as yet unclear where the tiger comes from.
The town of Montevrain is a stone's throw away from the Disneyland Paris but a source close to the investigation said there was no link to the theme park.
Authorities have also made enquiries at a big-cat wildlife park 30 kilometres away and a circus that recently passed through town but no missing tiger has yet been reported.
GMT 12:46 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Mexico shaken by 6.3 magnitude earthquakeGMT 17:24 2018 Wednesday ,17 January
Chinese solar boom sparks global renewables boonGMT 09:11 2018 Friday ,12 January
UK plans to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042GMT 18:57 2018 Wednesday ,10 January
Hundreds of bats die as Australia heatwave 'fries their brains'GMT 13:20 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
Most sea turtles now female in north Great Barrier ReefGMT 11:01 2018 Friday ,05 January
UK to continue farm subsidies for five years after BrexitGMT 10:36 2017 Sunday ,31 December
Swimming with whale sharks in MexicoGMT 11:57 2017 Thursday ,21 December
Delhi rolls out 'anti-smog' mist cannon in trial run

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor