'Lioness' on the loose in Germany now believed to be a wild boar

July 21 (UPI) -- A suspected lioness that prompted a 30-hour search involving police and other authorities near Berlin is now believed to have been a wild boar, officials said.

Berlin Police issued a warning to residents in Kleinmachnow and other southwestern suburbs to keep children and pets indoors on Thursday while a large-scale search was conducted for a suspected female lion on the loose.

An unclear video purporting to show the lioness wandering near some trees was initially said by police to be authentic, but Kleinmachnow Mayor Michael Grubert said at a Friday news conference that two wildlife experts had reviewed the footage and determined it does not depict a lioness.

He said searchers had not found evidence of any animals aside from wild boar.

Rainer Altenkamp, a wildlife expert and chairman of the environmental organization NABU Berlin, said the animal in the video is indeed a wild boar. He pointed out the animal's tail, round back and elongated head as being consistent with a wild pig, rather than a big cat.

Police had searched the area using drones, helicopters, sniffer dogs and heat-seeking cameras, but were unable to find any evidence of a lioness. Officials said a roaring sound heard by searching officers late Thursday night turned out to be the work of teenage pranksters using a Bluetooth speaker.

Police officially called off the search Friday.

Environmental officials in Brandenburg said the state is known to be home to 23 registered lions, all of which were accounted for by authorities.