Police and firefighters are hunting a tiger near Paris, after members of the public spotted the wild animal and a photograph emerged on an online messageboard for the town of Montevrain.
The emergency services hunting the animal are armed with paralysing stun darts as tigers are endangered species, but they have been authorised to use deadly force if the animal poses a direct and deadly threat to themselves or members of the public.
The search is focused around the town of Montevrain in the Seine-et-Marne district near the French capital, and authorities have been hunting the tiger since the early hours of this morning.
Police have called on locals to be cautious and to stay in their cars and houses while the search is underway.
The authorities are using Karelian dogs, used for bear hunting in northern Europe, to help find the tiger, and a helicopter is in the air providing aerial support.
It is not yet clear where the animal was being kept or how it escaped.
