By: Bryan Tan

On July 19, 2023, a large-scale military search, fully equipped with drones, night-vision goggles, thermal imaging cameras and an armored vehicle, was authorized in search of a lioness, after numerous sightings of a large predacious cat chasing a wild boar near Berlin.

Social media platforms were peppered with warnings, advising citizens of Berlin to stay in their houses or apartments during daytime. While the police officers searched for the supposed Lioness, a nearby zoo released a team of men, armed with tranquilizer guns, prepared to shoot upon any sight of the cat.

Later that night, a couple teenagers playing animal noises on a loudspeaker caused a minor panic. Residents reported to the police that they heard cat-like roars coming from the forest nearby.

Lots of people were skittish and scared, but some were a bit annoyed by the situation. Like many others, Ms. Bastians, a local resident in Berlin, owns a dog. She was forced to walk her dog in her small backyard garden area.

“The longer the search took, the less everyone cared,” she said. “Everyone was still, ‘OK, we don’t go into the woods and don’t let our dogs run free.’ But you can’t stay in your garden for two days.”

Two days after the first sighting, the search was finally called off when somebody called the police after spotting the lion. To search for the lioness, the police sent drones and thirty officers equipped with heat-imaging cameras.

As Ms. Bastians thought was no surprise, the only thing they found was a family of wild boar. As it turned out, there was no lioness, only a single boar.

The entire military was hoaxed by a few teenagers and a single grainy picture as evidence for the lioness’s appearance.

Things could have been a lot worse, though, points out the mayor, Mr. Grubert. “Imagine if it had been the other way around,” he said.