Paris: A major police operation was launched to capture what is believed to be a tiger on the loose near the Disneyland Paris theme park.
Reuters reported that a large feline, "probably a tiger", was seen roaming near Disneyland Paris theme park on Thursday, triggering an urgent police hunt and warnings for people to stay indoors and to fetch children home from school by car.
The extraordinary hunt was launched after a woman reported seeing the beast prowling near a supermarket car park in the town of Montevrain, east of the capital earlier Thursday.
Police and firefighters armed with tranquilliser guns were soon scrambled to the area, and residents were warned to stay indoors.
Officers were posted outside local schools to protect the children inside.
But after nearly 12 hours of hunting, the search was fruitless.
"Mysterious tiger on the loose near Disneyland Paris" http://t.co/igk4TfKpbh A tiger called Tiddles maybe? pic.twitter.com/q6YwaPFoNh— Bruce Buckman (@BruceBuckman) November 13, 2014
The search was sparked after a local resident took a photo of the fearsome animal in a supermarket car park and sounded the alert, authorities said.
Backed up by a helicopter overhead, firefighters armed with paralysing weapons were mobilised for the search in the Seine-et-Marne district near the French capital.
