For almost two days, a presumably escaped feline predator, which ultimately turned out to be a wild boar, kept the country on tenterhooks. The REWE supermarket in Kleinmachnow is located in the centre of the hunting ground. one asked the store manager how he experienced the "lion hunt".
It's another one of those typical summer slump topics: a large wild animal roaming around near people. After the mini caiman "Sammy", "killer catfish Kuno" and "Bruno", the "problem bear", this time it was a big cat that kept the republic on tenterhooks. It was allegedly spotted on Thursday night, 20 July, south of Berlin. After experts analysed the blurred video - the only recording to date - it was initially assumed that it could be a lion, or more precisely, a young lioness. Where did she come from? No one knows, she had probably escaped from private care or been abandoned by her owner. Or was it not a lioness at all, but a wild boar?
The REWE supermarket in Kleinmachnow is located in the suspected lion hunting ground
In any case, a large contingent of police together with vets, hunters and professional trackers searched for the big cat for days and nights, but without success. The animal was thought to be in the Zehlendorf, Teltow, Stahnsdorf and Kleinmachnow area, which is in the southern border region between Berlin and Brandenburg.
Johannes Recknagel
The REWE supermarket on Karl-Marx-Straße in Kleinmachnow is located in the middle of a hunting ground for lions and wild boar. We spoke to store manager Johannes Recknagel on Friday morning (21 July) about the unusual situation.
one: Mr Recknagel, as a market manager in Kleinmachnow and a Berliner who lives nearby, have you seen the lioness yet?
Johannes Recknagel: No, I haven't seen the lion yet and I haven't heard her roar either (laughs).
one: What is the current situation on and in the market?
Johannes Recknagel: It's currently very quiet in terms of revenue, even quieter than last year. But we don't know whether this is due to the holiday season or the lioness or both. There were a lot of police officers here yesterday, some of whom shopped with us.
one: How are your customers and employees reacting to the extraordinary situation?
Johannes Recknagel : Our employees and customers aren't particularly upset, they're taking it with humour and making jokes, such as whether the cat food is already sold out.
one: Isn't anyone afraid to walk or cycle through the forest?
Johannes Recknagel : Sure, some employees are currently avoiding the forest path to work and taking the car instead. But otherwise everything is relaxed.
one: Mr Recknagel, thank you very much for talking to us and stay safe.
Unmistakable: a lion. In this case, the matter is clear I Photo: Achim Bachhausen
Lion or lioness?
According to experts, the big cat spotted near Berlin was a lion. The reason: lions are the only big cats to have a black tail tassel, which the animal in the video apparently also has. When fully grown, female lions reach a head-to-torso length of around 122 to 192 centimetres and usually weigh 110 to 192 kilograms. Males are larger and heavier, reaching an average head-torso length of around 170 to 190 centimetres and weights of 150 to 250 kilograms. As the specimen in the video has no mane and is relatively small, experts initially assumed that it was a young female. Later, other experts recognised a wild boar in the same video. (Source: Wikipedia)
