Thomas Samson, AFP | Members of the National Hunting and Wildlife Office and French genadrmes take part in the search for what was first described as a tiger on the loose

The large cat that has so far eluded the French police and military near Disneyland Paris is not a tiger after all. French authorities also admitted on Friday that they still did not know exactly what it is.

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The creature popped up near a supermarket, crossed a major highway, slinked past a gas station, and sent regional officials on to high alert.

The Seine-et-Marne regional administration had announced Thursday that authorities were searching for a tiger on the loose, underscoring that there was little doubt.

But in a statement Friday afternoon, the administration said “the presence of an animal of the tiger species has proven to be excluded.” The statement was based on analysis by government wild animal experts of the animal’s tracks.

On Friday, they stated that the animal is feline but that they are still trying to determine its species. The hunting office could not be reached for comment.

Around 200 police, military officers and others are still searching for the animal, whose origins remain a mystery.

A helicopter buzzed over woods east of Paris and a dozen police vehicles lined a grassy area where the feline was spotted early Friday.

“He was also seen by truck drivers on the road,” said Christian Robache, the mayor of Montevrain, the town where the animal was first spotted near a parking lot on Thursday.

Police officers also guarded a school in Montverain on Friday as children arrived for class.

Tracks were spotted the same morning near the A4 highway between the towns of Bussy-Saint-Georges and Ferrières-en-Brie.

Residents warned to take precautions

The regional administration asked drivers to take “the greatest precautions” on the highway, a major artery between Paris and eastern France.

Authorities warned nearby residents to stay in cars instead of walking on foot – and especially to avoid walking through the woods. A Total gas station near the sighting was briefly closed.

Both sites where the animal or its tracks were seen are about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Disneyland Paris, one of Europe’s top tourist destinations. The theme park stated that it isn’t taking any special precautions because the animal is not deemed a threat; furthermore Disneyland Paris is surrounded by high walls to keep out intruders.

A wild cat animal park in the region, the Parc des Félins, said none of its cats is missing.

Some tweets suggested that the tracks belonged to a big dog, not a cat, but the head of the Paris regional Wolfcatcher Society, Robert Picaud, insisted the tracks could not have been falsified.

“It is clear that here is a feline walking around,” he said.

French tiger trainer Thierry Le Portier told BFM television that if the feline had been raised by a mother it would be more distrustful and tougher to catch. Raised by humans, it would be less distrustful but no less dangerous.

“It can remain in hiding for a long time,” he said, adding that it’s “no problem” if the cat goes without food for up to four days.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

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