After a local hunter reported a ‘big cat sighting’ near Munich, local police have deployed drones, dogs and a helicopter to comb the surrounding region.
Police were combing a nature reserve near Munich Airport in search of a puma after a hunter was reported to have captured one on camera in the area earlier this week.
The alleged sighting occurred near Oberding, in the district of Erding. The Erding district office has since confirmed a “big cat sighting” and warned locals to be cautious.
But at a press conference on Thursday, a spokeswoman for the district office said that it could not be confirmed whether the animal was in fact a puma, or something else entirely.
Police units have deployed thermal imaging drones, sniffer dogs and even a helicopter as part of their search.
What exactly was seen?
A local hunter reported capturing a puma on his night-vision wildlife camera on Tuesday evening.
The German Press Agency (dpa) reported that an unnamed expert analysed the thermal imaging footage before the Erding district office referred to it as a “big cat sighting”.
According to the district office, the images will be further analysed “in cooperation with experts,” including representatives from zoos and environmental authorities. District hunting chief Thomas Schreder told dpa that, after looking at the footage, he was at least fairly certain that the animal was not a native wildcat such as a lynx.
On Wednesday evening, police searches with drones and a helicopter found nothing.
According to media reports, a security guard tipped off the police that they saw something suspicious in surveillance camera footage. But after further police investigation, this turned out to be a house cat.
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Police said they had received 30 tips overnight, of which they were seriously investigating four.
They also complained that they were receiving a number of AI fakes.
“This kind of thing hinders our work,” said Erding’s police chief at a press conference.
Could it really be a puma?
The puma – also known as the cougar, mountain lion or panther – is not native to Germany or Europe. Its native range is in the Americas.
Of course some pumas live in zoos in the region, but authorities say that they have received no information from possible owners in the region about an escaped puma.
Bavaria has strict laws against the private ownership of big cats and other wild animals. To keep one legally requires a permit, which are reserved almost exclusively for licensed zoos, wildlife sanctuaries and research institutions.
In other states in Germany the wildlife trade is not as strictly regulated. In the neighbouring state of Baden-Württemberg, for example, there isn’t a law banning the ownership of big cats as long as welfare and spatial care standards are met.
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A puma was found in Bavaria in 2022, but in a wooden crate in a car. The animal was nursed back to health and moved to Austria.
In 2023, police and hunters searched for a lioness in Kleinmachnow near Berlin for about 30 hours, before it was revealed that the animal in question was most likely a wild boar. That incident also began with a bit of grainy footage caught on camera.
For now people in the region have been advised to stay alert and keep dogs on a leash while the Erding police continue searching for the animal.
Whether it ends up being a real puma, or merely a Stubentiger, remains to be seen.
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