Hunt launched for ‘young tiger on loose’ near Disneyland in Paris

Residents in three nearby towns have been urged to stay indoors.

The town of Montevrain sent out a news alert on its Facebook page saying a young tiger was spotted behind some tennis courts and a football pitch. The pitch is about five-and-a-half miles from Disneyland Paris.

Around 60 police, fire and other security forces were trying to track the tiger, which is estimated to weigh around 70 kilograms.

Police were using a helicopter to help search for the animal, and a wolf-catcher was also drafted in to aid in the search.

Police and rescue squads at the scene roped off a security perimeter and urged people living in Montevrain, Chessy and Chalifert to remain indoors. If they had to travel, police advised them to stay in their cars.

The Parc des Felins, a wild cat animal park about 18 miles from Montevrain, said in a statement on its website that all of its animals were accounted for and the escaped tiger did not come from there.

EuroDisney, the operator of Disneyland Paris, said it has no tigers in the theme park, so the errant cat could not have come from them either. It was not immediately clear if any extra precautions had been taken inside the park.