Police in Berlin and its surrounding suburbs are searching for a big cat, suspected to be a lioness, spotted hunting boars in nearby woods in the wee hours Thursday.

Authorities in the Berlin suburb of Kleinmachnow were informed about the wild animal gone loose by informants, who showed them a video of the big cat chasing a boar. That video, along with a subsequent sighting by police, led searchers to conclude that they are dealing with a lioness.

The video depicting the lioness was also posted to Twitter by a user named Nico M.

Helicopters, a veterinarian, a pair of hunters, a pair of drone searchers and 30 police cars were involved in the hunt that went well into Thursday.

Kleinmachnow residents were urged to stay inside and otherwise avoid wooded areas and long dog walks.

“The primary aim, if at all possible, is to capture the animal, if necessary with an anesthetic. Other measures will only be taken on a case-by-case basis by police officers on the ground if their own lives or those of others are endangered,” Kleinmachnow Mayor Michael Grubert said, as translated by The Associated Press.

The origins of the animal are being investigated. A citizen might own it. None of the zoos or circuses nearby reported a lioness missing.

At least one expert said the animal is not a lioness at all.

“No circus in the whole of Germany has a lion or a tiger anymore. If that’s a lion, I’m eating my hat off. The animal is far too slender and too small,” local circus director Michel Rogall told the Tagesspiegel newspaper, as translated by Euronews.

Mr. Rogall pegged the beast as a Caucasian shepherd, a large dog breed.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.