A warning has been issued for residents in a town near Berlin to stay indoors and take precautions as police searched for a wild animal on the loose, believed to be a lioness.

German authorities said they received an emergency call around midnight Wednesday night from a resident who spotted a wild animal roaming around Richard-Strauss-Weg in Kleinmachnow, a city in the southwestern outskirts of Berlin.

The resident took a video of the animal, which police deemed to be credible and after an initial assessment, and determined it to be a lioness, according to apress release.

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In the meantime, Brandenburg police, in coordination with Berlin police, worked to attempt to locate the animal throughout the night, per the release.

STRINGER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Police patrol during a search for a escaped lion near the village of Kleinmachnow in the south of in Berlin, Germany

Thirty patrol cars from the Brandenburg Police Department were sent out into the area, along with helicopters from Berlin. Veterinarians and hunters were also on hand to provide their expertise during the police investigation.

As of Thursday, the search was still ongoing. Police narrowed the search area down to Teltow, Kleinmachnow and the Stahnsdorf areas, the latter of which is just south of Kleinmachnow and has forests and vast rural lands.

Police patrol during a search for a suspected escaped lioness near Kleinmachnow, Germany.Sven Kaeuler/TNN/dpa via AP

Police patrol during a search operation for a dangerous wild animal near the village of Kleinmachnow in the southern suburbs of Berlin, Germany

Sven Kaeuler/TNN/dpa via AP

Investigators are also working to figure out where the lioness may have come from, as the big cats are native to Africa. Brandenburg police say they have reached out to animal-testing facilities, animal parks, zoos, animal-protection facilities and circuses in the Kleinmachnow area, which have all said they’re not missing an animal.

The Brandenburg Police Department say that a large number of its police force and forces from the West Police Department will remain on site in Teltow and Stahnsdorf. Riot police have also been deployed to protect the local population.

source: people.com