La bête de Paris – which might in fact be a ginger house cat (Picture: Twitter)

Authorities have called off the search for a tiger on the loose near Paris, after experts dramatically scaled down the threat to humans.

The tiger – at first described as a large maneater, then as a 70kg young tiger, then as a lynx, and then as a European wildcat – may now be nothing more than a fat house cat.

At the height of the hunt, a helicopter and more than 200 police officers and animal welfare experts on the ground were out looking for ‘La bête de Paris’.

Officers were stationed around local schools, and residents were being warned against being outside in areas where the tiger might be roaming.




Of course, a tiger could well have sprang out from behind the bushes and devoured some schoolkid on the way home – but authorities are feeling slightly embarrassed by the build-up now that danger level has been downplayed.

Le tigre de montevrain est passé par là. @le_Parisien pic.twitter.com/9WgTLnoPdU — Aurélie Ladet (@aurelieladet) November 13, 2014

While some police officers will still remain in the area where the animal is believed to be at large, the helicopter has been grounded and the hunt has been all-but halted.

The Daily Mirror ran a live update on the hunt all day, involving experts explaining what to do if confronted by a tiger (‘Don’t run’), and Twitter pictures of disembodied fingers pointing to ‘genuine’ tiger tracks.

Late in the day, it quoted an expert saying theat ‘People got carried away’.

Members of the police animal brigade check for tigers near Paris (AP)

But, just because they haven’t found the tiger, it doesn’t mean it isn’t out there.

It’s a Friday night and there is plenty of opportunity for an apex predator to have a good night out in the French capital.

And, if it nips onto the Eurostar, it could be here in a matter of hours.

If confronted, don’t run. Make yourself as big as possible, waving your arms and kicking your legs, and shout. The tiger will undoubtedly only understand French, so try to learn:

Belle tigre, tigre assez (Nice tiger, pretty tiger)

Regardez là-bas, les bébés français sans défense (Look over there, defenceless French babies)

Attaque si vous pensez que vous êtes assez dur (Attack if you think you’re hard enough)

Vous ne voulez pas de moi, je viens moi-même souillé (You don’t want me, I just soiled myself)

Or better still…

Vous ne voulez pas de moi, vous voulez Katie Hopkins (You don’t want me, you want Katie Hopkins)

Here kitty kitty… Katie Hopkins (Picture: PA)