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Paris tiger hunt: search teams follow paw prints into a wood Paris tiger hunt: search teams follow paw prints into a wood
(35 minutes later)
School children were given a police escort home and local residents warned to stay indoors or move around by car as the normally tranquil village of Montévrain, half an hour east of Paris, went into near-lockdown after a young tiger was spotted prowling near the local supermarket. School children got a police escort home and local residents were warned to stay indoors or move around by car as the normally tranquil village of Montévrain, half an hour east of Paris, went into near-lockdown after a young tiger was spotted prowling near the local supermarket.
A major search operation involving firefighters, a helicopter with geothermal equipment and police officers armed with rifles and stun guns was still underway last night after the animal was spotted in the Intermarché store’s car park early in the morning. A major search operation involving firefighters, a helicopter with geothermal equipment and police officers armed with rifles and stun guns was underway on Thursday evening after the animal was spotted in the Intermarché store’s car park early in the morning.
“A young tiger was spotted this morning in the woods behind the tennis courts and the football pitch,” the mayor’s office said on its Facebook page. “We would urge caution, and ask residents not to walk within this zone, which has been sealed off since this morning. Avoid moving around on foot; use a vehicle if possible.” “A tiger is on the loose in the vicinity,” the mayor’s office said in a late afternoon update on its website. “Police and civil defence forces have been mobilised. Residents close to the area concerned are requested not to leave their homes. On no account should they go near the woods.”
A resident first photographed the animal close by the supermarket at about 8.30am, thinking at first that it was a large cat. The supermarket manager, Jean-Baptiste Berdeaux, told French media his wife had been the first to see the animal. “She stayed in her car, called me, and said she thought she had seen a lynx,” he said.A resident first photographed the animal close by the supermarket at about 8.30am, thinking at first that it was a large cat. The supermarket manager, Jean-Baptiste Berdeaux, told French media his wife had been the first to see the animal. “She stayed in her car, called me, and said she thought she had seen a lynx,” he said.
#tigre en liberté en Seine-et-Marne : les enfants confinés dans les écoles http://t.co/L1mUaJCqXY pic.twitter.com/8rOey9WYFL#tigre en liberté en Seine-et-Marne : les enfants confinés dans les écoles http://t.co/L1mUaJCqXY pic.twitter.com/8rOey9WYFL
On closer inspection, authorities deduced they were dealing with a tiger. Police and firefighters were alerted and the village primary school was warned to keep pupils indoors until the animal had been captured.On closer inspection, authorities deduced they were dealing with a tiger. Police and firefighters were alerted and the village primary school was warned to keep pupils indoors until the animal had been captured.
By mid-afternoon, a dozen fire trucks, 60 firefighters and police officers, a helicopter with heat-seeking equipment and a tracker dog specially trained to locate bears and large game were quartering an area about the size of five football pitches, TF1 news reported. By mid-afternoon, a dozen fire trucks, 200 firefighters and police officers, a helicopter with heat-seeking equipment and a tracker dog specially trained to locate bears and large game were quartering an area about the size of five football pitches, the mayor’s office said.
The mayor’s office in the village of about 10,000 people, close to Disneyland Paris, said the search teams had followed paw prints into a small wood close to the village tennis court, where it appeared still to be hiding.The mayor’s office in the village of about 10,000 people, close to Disneyland Paris, said the search teams had followed paw prints into a small wood close to the village tennis court, where it appeared still to be hiding.
It was not known where the presumed tiger, believed to be about one and a half years old and weighing 150 pounds, came from. A nearby wildlife park, the Parc des Félins at Nesles, 30km away, said it had not lost any tigers.
Sur les traces du #tigreSur les traces du #tigre
traqué en Seine-et-Marne : Les autres images A VOIR ICI =>http://t.co/qzEJzPun2C pic.twitter.com/wd615hvSswtraqué en Seine-et-Marne : Les autres images A VOIR ICI =>http://t.co/qzEJzPun2C pic.twitter.com/wd615hvSsw
It was not known where the presumed tiger, believed to be about one and a half years old and weighing 150 pounds, came from. A nearby wildlife park, the Parc des Félins at Nesles, 30km away, said it had not lost any tigers. The mayor’s office said at first that it suspected a circus that left the municipality on Saturday may have abandoned the animal, but Cédric Tartaud-Gineste, a spokesman at the Seine-et-Marne prefecture in Melun, told France Info radio that routine welfare checks by gendarmes last week had not thrown up any tigers there either.
The mayor’s office said at first that it suspected a circus that left the municipality on Saturday may have abandoned the animal, but Cédric Tartaud-Gineste, a spokesman at the Seine-et-Marne prefecture in Melun, told France Info radio that routine welfare checks by gendarmes last week had not thrown up any tigers there either. revealed the existence of a tiger either. “Or at least, none that were officially declared,” he said, adding that the search teams would do “all they could” to take the animal alive. “We will, as far as possible, attempt to send it to sleep,” he said. “If it becomes dangerous or aggressive, the order will be given to put it down.”
“Or at least, none that were officially declared,” he said, adding that the search teams would do “all they could” to take the animal alive. “We will as far as possible attempt to send it to sleep,” he said. “If it becomes dangerous or aggressive, the order will be given to put it down.”