A fruitless two-day search for a tiger in the Parisian suburbs was downgraded today after authorities confirmed the animal is not in fact a tiger.
Wildlife experts called to the site where the animal was first sighted concluded that the prints were not those of a tiger but of a large cat that is not yet unidentified.
The hunt is still on as the animal continues to elude police helicopters, trained dogs and animal trackers.
A photograph of a large feline first appeared yesterday morning after a local woman in the Parisian suburb of Montevrain first spotted the animal in a car-park.
It has since been spotted near a gas station and was sighted crossing a major motorway 10km from an earlier sighting this morning.
Montevrain is situated near Disneyland Paris and 30km from Le Parc des Felins, a zoo specialising in wild cats.
The theme park has stated is does not keep live animals, while the zoo has said all its animals are accounted for.
The area outside Paris is a mix of suburban developments, open farmland and forests.
Police have stated that in case of an encounter with the animal, people should “stay calm, not run, not scream - walk away while keeping an eye on the cat and seek shelter in a car or building”.