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| Police guards at schools as Paris tiger hunt continues | Police guards at schools as Paris tiger hunt continues |
| (5 months later) | |
| Residents of the normally tranquil village of Montévrain, half an hour east of Paris, woke this morning to news that a large-scale hunt for a suspected young tiger spotted prowling in the area was set to continue. | Residents of the normally tranquil village of Montévrain, half an hour east of Paris, woke this morning to news that a large-scale hunt for a suspected young tiger spotted prowling in the area was set to continue. |
| Dozens of French police armed with tranquilliser guns resumed the search on Friday morning, joined by soldiers from a nearby army base. Authorities ordered residents to stay at home, and police guarded the entrance to schools as children arrived for morning lessons. | Dozens of French police armed with tranquilliser guns resumed the search on Friday morning, joined by soldiers from a nearby army base. Authorities ordered residents to stay at home, and police guarded the entrance to schools as children arrived for morning lessons. |
| A helicopter equipped with thermal imaging equipment circled over the search zone – a wooded area near the small town – AFP reported. | A helicopter equipped with thermal imaging equipment circled over the search zone – a wooded area near the small town – AFP reported. |
| The alarm was raised on Thursday when a woman spotted the animal near the local supermarket, but a day-long hunt for it proved fruitless. | The alarm was raised on Thursday when a woman spotted the animal near the local supermarket, but a day-long hunt for it proved fruitless. |
| “The operation has not succeeded,” Frédéric Mac Kain, of the sub-prefecture in nearby Torcy, told TF1 television news as dusk fell on Thursday. “We are widening the search area, and the hunt could continue during the night.” | “The operation has not succeeded,” Frédéric Mac Kain, of the sub-prefecture in nearby Torcy, told TF1 television news as dusk fell on Thursday. “We are widening the search area, and the hunt could continue during the night.” |
| Matters were somewhat complicated, Mac Kain added, not only by the darkness but by the fact that the animal appeared to have “a certain penchant” for taking naps, and had evidently spent several hours “snoring serenely somewhere” out of sight of its pursuers. | Matters were somewhat complicated, Mac Kain added, not only by the darkness but by the fact that the animal appeared to have “a certain penchant” for taking naps, and had evidently spent several hours “snoring serenely somewhere” out of sight of its pursuers. |
| A dozen fire trucks, a helicopter with heat-seeking equipment, 200 firefighters, gendarmes and police officers armed with stun guns, and a sniffer dog specially trained to track bears and large game spent most of Thursday combing an area about the size of five football pitches near the village tennis courts and football ground, the mayor’s office said. | A dozen fire trucks, a helicopter with heat-seeking equipment, 200 firefighters, gendarmes and police officers armed with stun guns, and a sniffer dog specially trained to track bears and large game spent most of Thursday combing an area about the size of five football pitches near the village tennis courts and football ground, the mayor’s office said. |
| School children got a police escort home and local residents were warned to stay indoors or, if they had to leave home, take their cars as the village, 40km from central Paris, went into near-lockdown after a local resident first photographed the animal at 8.30am. | School children got a police escort home and local residents were warned to stay indoors or, if they had to leave home, take their cars as the village, 40km from central Paris, went into near-lockdown after a local resident first photographed the animal at 8.30am. |
| “A tiger is on the loose in the vicinity,” the mayor’s office said in a later 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 tiger is on the loose in the vicinity,” the mayor’s office said in a later 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.” |
| #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 |
| The Intermarché 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. | The Intermarché 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. |
| After inspecting her photographs, authorities deduced they were in fact dealing with a tiger. Police and firefighters were alerted and the village primary school warned to keep pupils indoors. Anyone who saw the tiger was asked to call the police or the fire service immediately. | After inspecting her photographs, authorities deduced they were in fact dealing with a tiger. Police and firefighters were alerted and the village primary school warned to keep pupils indoors. Anyone who saw the tiger was asked to call the police or the fire service immediately. |
| The mayor’s office in the village of about 10,000 people, close to Disneyland Paris, said the search teams had found and then followed paw prints into a small wood near the tennis courts, where it disappeared. | The mayor’s office in the village of about 10,000 people, close to Disneyland Paris, said the search teams had found and then followed paw prints into a small wood near the tennis courts, where it disappeared. |
| Sur les traces du #tigre traqué 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. | 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 of 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 of 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. |
| “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.” |
| As suspicion mounted that the tiger could be an escaped or abandoned pet, the Peta animal rights group called on authorities to “show restraint and compassion” in dealing with it. | As suspicion mounted that the tiger could be an escaped or abandoned pet, the Peta animal rights group called on authorities to “show restraint and compassion” in dealing with it. |
| “This situation, however upsetting, is entirely preventable and should serve as a wake-up call to the public about the perils of keeping wild animals in captivity.” | “This situation, however upsetting, is entirely preventable and should serve as a wake-up call to the public about the perils of keeping wild animals in captivity.” |