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WILDLIFE

How did a wild boar sighting in Berlin turn into a two-day lion hunt?

For more than 24 hours, hundreds of police in Berlin searched for a suspected lioness - but now authorities say the wild cat was probably a boar. So how did such an everyday event turn into an international media storm?

Published: 21 July 2023 16:25 CEST
Kleinmachnow mayor Michael Grubert (SPD)
Kleinmachnow mayor Michael Grubert (SPD) holds up a still of the 'lioness' video with expert analysis. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Paul Zinken

What’s going on?

It all began with a short, grainy video filmed by two men who reported seeing something rather unexpected: a wild boar being hunted by what appeared to be a lioness. 

The seconds-long video, which was sent to police on Thursday night and later shared on social media, depicts a large wild animal prowling the forests near Berlin. It fuelled feverish speculation about whether a lioness truly had found its way into a suburb of the German capital, and prompted an immediate operation to find and capture the predator.

The 30-hour search was largely concentrated in the southern district of Zehlendorf, though residents in other nearby areas were told to be on their guard. In Potsdam, a small city on the outskirts of Berlin, authorities issued a warning: “Eyes open! Potsdam is not far away,” the city announced on Twitter.

Helicopters scoured the forests, dogs were set loose to sniff out the mauled remains of a wild boar believed to be eaten by the lioness, and wildlife experts and hunters worked alongside hundreds of emergency workers to hunt down and capture the animal. 

The Berlin ‘lioness’ also made headlines around the world.

But after attempting to find traces of the lioness well into the night on Thursday and throughout the morning on Friday, the panicked search came to a rather abrupt and banal end.

“We no longer have a dangerous situation,” Michael Grubert (SPD), the mayor of the district of Kleinmachnow, said in a statement. Two experts were commissioned to view the video footage and independently came to the conclusion that it was a wild boar, he said. 

READ ALSO: Search for Berlin ‘lioness’ ends as mayor claims it was likely a boar

Let’s slow down a bit. So the lioness wasn’t actually a lioness?

That’s what it sounds like. Though the animal in the video appeared much more exotic than your typical domestic Wildschwein (wild boar), all the evidence so far points to a pig rather than a lion. 

To conduct their research, the experts assessed the physical traits and body composition of a lioness – including comparisons of how the shape of a lioness’ back might look when hunting a trail through the forest.

They compared their analysis with the animal depicted in the video – which had been previously confirmed as real footage – and came to the conclusion that the animal was highly unlikely to have been a wild cat. In fact, they said, it was far more likely to have been a wild boar.

Naturally, news of the mix-up was greeted with relish on social media. 

Even before the results of the video analysis were known, however, numerous experts had aired scepticism over whether a lioness was truly roaming the streets of Kleinmachnow.

Berliner wildlife expert Derk Ehlert was among them, telling RBB on Friday morning: “I see two wild boars running from left to right in this video”.

Another major cause for suspicion was the fact that, aside from the initial sighting on Thursday night, no other traces of the supposed lioness – or its prey – were found throughout the search. 

READ ALSO: ‘Lioness’ reported on the loose around Berlin

“Basically, a lion cannot just be gone, not even a lioness like that. It leaves tracks,” Ehlert said. “It is quite striking that at the spot where the animal was seen and filmed, there is not even a tread mark to be seen.” 

Wildlife experts also pointed out that, had a lioness truly hunted down and killed a wild boar in the night, hunting dogs would have been able to sniff out the remains almost immediately. 

It had also been unclear where this mystery lioness would have come from. Countless calls to zoos, wildlife shelters and even circuses in the area had been a dead end, leading to (slightly wild) speculation that someone may have been privately keeping a lion in their home. 

How did this all get blown out of proportion? 

That’s a very good question – and one that the authorities will no doubt face questions on in the coming days.

In fact, within hours of the search being called off, the deputy chair of the German police union, Heiko Teggatz, slammed the operation in the tabloid media.

“This operation is without a doubt the most expensive safari ever in Germany’s forests!”, Teggatz fumed in Bild. Enlisting the help of drones, helicopters and hundreds of emergency personnel could easily cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of euros, he said. 

But Kleinmachnow mayor Grubert was quick to defend himself.

Kleinmachnow mayor Michael Grubert (SPD)

Kleinmachnow mayor Michael Grubert (SPD) holds up a still of the ‘lioness’ video with expert analysis. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Paul Zinken

“The danger situation was such that the deployment of the police was justified,” he told reporters. He said that the municipality did not incur many costs, but the police did – though at the moment it is unclear just how high these additional costs were. 

Peter Foitzik, head of operations, also said the scale of the search was proportionate since authorities had been unable to rule out the lioness theory at first. 

“No evidence (of the animal) has been confirmed and therefore this dangerous situation has ended,” he added.

READ ALSO: What to know about Germany’s wild boars – and how to stay safe around them

However, it’s clear that the idea of a lioness on the loose in Berlin captured many people’s imaginations and really took on a life of its own.

The dramatic hunt was reported on internationally in media outlets such as The Guardian and the BBC, while social media was awash with real-time updates, gossip about the ‘lioness’ and a number of hilarious memes.

The satirical paper Der Postillion even imagined a confrontation between the misplaced lion and an angry Berlin cyclist, who are known for being just a little bit territorial about their Radwege (cycle paths).

Despite the fact that nobody actually came across the lioness after the initial sighting, there was also plenty of hearsay – and a few hoaxes – that continued to fuel speculation well into Friday.

Along with sightings that couldn’t be confirmed, police had received reports of lion roars in the district of Zehlendorf near the city limits.

On Friday, however, these turned out to be fake: a group of youngsters had been out and about on the streets on the southern suburb emitting lion roars and other safari noises with their smartphones and a Bluetooth speaker. 

“This does not help the community or the police,” a spokesperson for the police said on Friday. However, many secretly agreed that it sounded like fun. 

So as the hunters pack away their tranquilisers, the emergency teams resume their ordinary activities and the helicopters return to their bases on Friday, Berlin returns to normality in time for the weekend.

But in years to come, many will look back fondly on the time a lioness came to visit the German capital for a few days – if only in our heads. 

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BERLIN

Zurich versus Berlin: Which German-speaking city is better to live in?

After Swiss-born Eurovision winner Nemo told reporters he preferred Berlin to Zurich, we compare the two European cities, taking in living costs, quality of life factors, and cultural highlights.

Published: 13 May 2024 17:22 CEST
Zurich versus Berlin: Which German-speaking city is better to live in?

Nemo, who took the top prize in the Eurovision song contest at the weekend, comes from the small town of Biel in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, but splits their time mostly between Zurich and Berlin, German news outlet Tagesspiegel reported on Monday.

Both major cities in central European countries with German-speaking populations (although of course in Zurich the dialect is Swiss-German or Züritüütsch), Zurich and Berlin have some obvious similarities. On the other hand, Zurich has been ranked the world’s most expensive city for years, whereas Berlin maintains a reputation for being affordable and a hub for arts and culture – still managing to hang onto its reputation as “poor but sexy”.

Of course affordability is just one of many factors that make a city attractive to its residents, and both Zurich and Berlin have a lot to offer.

The Local takes a look at some key stats and lifestyle differences to offer a comparison of the two cities.

‘A creative city that is constantly changing’

According to the report inTagesspiegel, Nemo called Berlin their “secret favourite” compared to Zurich, adding: “I love Berlin so much because it’s such a creative city that is constantly changing.”

Coming from a 24-year-old singer, it’s perhaps no surprise that Berlin was their top choice. Germany’s political capital has also long been known as a capital of arts, culture, and radical acceptance.

Nemo said as much in their comments: “Berlin lets you be who you are. It’s a city that’s fun.”

Nemo at the airport

Nemo arrives at Zurich Airport in Kloten after winning the final of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2024. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/KEYSTONE | Walter Bieri

As a non-binary person, Nemo likely also enjoys Berlin’s notorious inclusivity. With loads of LGBTQ+ clubs and events, as well as specific events for virtually every demographic imaginable, Berlin prides itself on being a place where residents can do and be as they like.

But that’s not to say that Zurich is so close minded. In fact, the Swiss capital also boasts the best quality of life for the LGBTQ+ community, as well as older people, in all of Europe.

But if you’ve already grown beyond your twenties, you probably want to consider a few factors beside a city’s party scene before you consider moving there. Especially for people looking for a place to settle down, factors like cost of living or availability of work become more important.

Cost of living

As mentioned above, Zurich consistently ranks as the world’s most expensive city to live in. 

Berlin, on the other hand, is very affordable, compared to many major cities in Europe.

According to the site Numbeo, which gathers user-contributed data on cost of living across the world, as of May 2024 most living expenses are about 40 percent lower in Berlin than in Zurich.

However, local purchasing power is nearly 30 percent lower in Berlin according to the same data, which suggests that most Zurich residents don’t mind the city’s high price tag because they take home larger salaries.

Quality of life statistics

It’s not only the costs that are high in Zurich. In fact, one thing that might be higher is residents’ satisfaction with where they live.

According to the 2023 Report on the Quality of Life in European Cities, published by the European Commission, Zurich out ranked 82 cities across Europe in most quality of life metrics.

With 97 percent of survey respondents saying they were satisfied with Zurich, it was the highest ranked city, just ahead of Copenhagen in Denmark and Groningen in the Netherlands.

More than 90 percent of Berlin residents were satisfied with their city, which is a respectable score, but was less than the nearby city of Leipzig.

In particular, Zurich residents tend to be happy with their jobs, public transport, healthcare services, air quality, and their finances.

Interestingly, Berliners came in one point higher than people from Zurich on job satisfaction.

One aspect of life where residents marked Berlin quite poorly: “The time it takes to get a request solved by a city’s local public administration”, with a satisfaction rate of 39 percent.

READ ALSO: ‘I’ve waited four years’ – Foreigners in Berlin furious over German citizenship delays

Rave the Planet

The ‘Rave the Planet’ techo parade in Berlin in July 2023. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fabian Sommer

Where do the trains run on time?

One thing that Nemo admitted they don’t like about Berlin was the number of strikes.

“What really annoys me is that you can never be sure when you will arrive somewhere because there are so many strikes,” Nemo told the German Press Agency. “That’s why I’ve now bought a small scooter to get from A to B faster.”

Fortunately for Nemo and Berliners alike, transportation strikes have simmered down, at least for now, as most of Germany’s bigger transportation workers’ unions have reached agreements with their respective employers.

That said, delayed trains and buses are not an uncommon occurrence in Berlin, and across Germany trains are delayed much more often than in Switzerland.

In fact, in 2023, Swiss media pointed out that eight of ten of the country’s most often delayed train routes actually came in delayed from Germany. 

READ ALSO: German trains ‘responsible for Switzerland’s worst delays’

Other similarities and factors to note

One more commonality between Zurich and Berlin – they’re both international urban centres, attracting foreign residents from around the globe.

READ ALSO: IN NUMBERS – Zurich’s foreign population climbs to record high

While the influx of foreign residents certainly makes both of these cities more flavourful and interesting, it also comes with a major downside. Both cities are suffering from a shortage of housing.

According to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office, in Zurich only 0.06 percent of apartments were vacant in the summer of 2023. In Germany’s popular cities know the situation is not much better.

Home to around 1.4 million residents, Zurich is less than half the size of Berlin in terms of population. And according to World Population Review, it is a bit more dense as well, with approximately 4,700 residents per square kilometre as opposed to Berlin’s 3,800.

Famously built in former swampland, Berlin’s surroundings are flat and partially forested with an abundance of lakes in the surrounding region. The Spree River flows the through the city centre, and is connected a series of urban canals. 

Zurich, on the other hand, is set between wooded hills, just north of the Alps. It’s 408 metres above sea level and much of the city follows the Limmat River, which flows out of the lake that shares its name with the city.

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