After the all-clear was given in the search for an alleged predator south of Berlin, laboratory analyzes revealed that it was not a lioness. Experts from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research examined the feces and a hair found. According to this, the animal is a herbivore – not a lion – and the hair does not come from a cat either, the municipality of Kleinmachnow and the district of Potsdam-Mittelmark announced on Monday. The lion hunt canceled on Friday caused mocking comments in the international media.
Was it a wild boar? According to the laboratory analysis, there is a lot to be said for it, but it is not yet absolutely certain, according to the authorities. The final result of laboratory analyzes by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research is still pending, as some of the investigations are very complex and lengthy.
Police officers, hunters and veterinarians started an extensive operation in Berlin and Brandenburg last Thursday in search of a supposed predator. A mobile phone video, on which a lioness was initially suspected, had triggered the action. Helicopters and drones also took off. The operation was then stopped on Friday afternoon and the authorities no longer saw any danger. On the one hand, the emergency services found no evidence of a predator in the forest, on the other hand, after evaluating the video images, two experts said it was most likely a wild boar.
According to experts, the hair found during the search for the animal has no properties of cat hair, as the municipality of Kleinmachnow announced in an interim result on Monday. “It had a basic rigidity, i.e. it could not be deformed, but always assumed its curved shape.” The experts would have compared the hair with lion hair. The laboratory concluded that it was almost certainly not cat hair.
From a purely visual point of view, there is already a lot to be said for the fact that it is a wild boar hair, according to the community in the report of the experts. However, this cannot be said with absolute certainty at the present time. Initial examinations of the faeces showed a high proportion of plant material in the laboratory sample, which speaks against the fact that it is a primarily carnivorous animal, the municipality said in its statement.
