Paris ‘tiger’ on the prowl not a tiger at all, say French police

French authorities say a big cat eluding police near Disneyland Paris is not a tiger, but admit they do not know exactly what it is, the Guardian reported.

The Seine-et-Marne administration said the “presence of an animal of the tiger species is now excluded,” based on analysis by government wildlife experts. The statement marks a turnaround from Thursday, when it said the authorities were searching for a tiger.

Dozens of police armed with tranquilliser guns resumed their search for the animal on Friday morning, joined by soldiers from a nearby army base. Authorities ordered residents of the normally tranquil village of Montévrain to stay at home, and police guarded the entrance to schools as children arrived for morning lessons.

The focus of the search switched to a clearing near a service station on the A4 motorway, about five miles from where the animal was initially seen, after new tracks were spotted. The regional administration asked drivers to take “the greatest precautions” on the road, a major artery between Paris and eastern France.

The alarm was raised on Thursday when a woman spotted an animal near the local supermarket. 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 the day searching for the animal, while schoolchildren got a police escort home and local residents were warned to stay indoors.

But the threat level appeared to be downgraded on Friday, with the local director of public safety, Chantal Baccanini, saying there was “no danger for the general population.”

“It’s between a domestic cat and a bigger feline,” said Eric Hansen, from the national hunting office.