What does ... actually do? - Alleged lioness in Berlin: Wildlife expert Derk Ehlert looks back on the search
This summer, a suspected runaway lioness kept the publicinBerlin and Brandenburg in suspense for a day and a half. When did your cell phone ring for the first time?I received the first call at two o'clock in the night from July 19 to 20. That was nothing unusual at first: I regularly get calls at night, for example when there are traffic accidents involving wild animals. This time, the police asked me for assistance and to provide people with special rifles to search for a large predator. I arranged for an expert with the necessary tranquillizer gun and went back to sleep - until the next call three hours later. I was asked if I knew anyone else who could help because a lioness might be moving from Kleinmachnow in Brandenburg towards Berlin.
Didyou set off yourself?The police were well prepared with a team of hundreds. In addition, the investigation was already underway with experts and wildlife biologists who study the behavior of lions. So I didn't have to actively support the search, but I watched a video that had been recorded during the night.
You expressed doubts early on. Your first thought when you saw the footagewas, "When will the lioness finally come into the picture? I only recognized two wild boars. The appearance of the tail, the movements and the posture of the back clearly didn't show a big cat to me.
After the video analysis and the laboratory results of the faeces and hair samples, the all-clear was given: the lioness actually turned out to be a wild boar, and we were already prepared to increase the search density and had a hunting party with additional rifles and trapping equipment on standby in case the lioness made her way from the south of Berlin to the center.
"The biggest animal was an elephant on Jakob-Kaiser-Platz"
Did you smile after the investigation?You have to take every clue seriously. Of course I believed the police officers and witnesses who had seen such an animal. The only thing that puzzled me was that there were no lion paw prints where it had been spotted.
What other exotic animals have you come across?kangaroos, crocodiles, poisonous snakes and all the other creatures that people keep at home are also out there at some point - if they escape. The biggest animal was an elephant on Jakob-Kaiser-Platz that had escaped from a circus. The one that kept me busy the longest was a serval, a medium-sized cat of prey that roamed free in Berlin for a year and a half.
Doyou have an office in the Berlin Senate Administration, or do you only work outside?In between, I use my desk to answer inquiries and do educational work. City dwellers need to know what to do if they come across a marten in the garage, for example. I explain to mothers who are afraid for their children because they see a fox foaming at the mouth in the playground that this does not mean the fox is rabid, but that in winter, for example, it is in heat, looking for a mate.
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- Despite the lioness incident causing a stir in Berlin and Brandenburg, Derk Ehlert had previously encountered various exotic animals in the city, including an elephant that escaped from a circus.
- During the search for the suspected lioness, Derk Ehlert expressed doubts about the sightings, as the footage only showed two wild boars and did not appear to be of a large cat.
- Derk Ehlert's work in wildlife management often involves providing Berlin residents with information on how to handle encounters with wild animals, such as explaining that a fox foaming at the mouth in winter is not necessarily rabid, but is likely looking for a mate.
Source: www.stern.de
