Berlin fire department said the escaped animal was a lioness (Image: Getty )

       Police in Germany are hunting an escaped "lioness" that has been reported to be roaming the woods overnight on the outskirts of Berlin.

       Authorities warned residents to "avoid leaving the house" due to sightings of an escaped wild animal in the Potsdam region south of the capital, home to around 20,000 residents.

       A video posted on Twitter overnight appeared to show a big cat apparently having successfully killed and hunted a wild boar, alongside the footage taken by torchlight the poster wrote that police helicopters were on the way.

       According to Der Spiegel police found out about the big cat after witnesses posted videos online. Police said vets and specialist teams had been mobilised to track down the large cat.

       It's not been confirmed yet where the big cat has escaped from but local zoos, circuses and private collections are believed to be being checked.

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       #l？we in #kleinmachnow @polizeiberlin sucht aber findet nicht pic.twitter.com/hZmIcNZK7j

       — deer BSC (@lqzze1) July 20, 2023

       #l？we in #kleinmachnow @polizeiberlin sucht aber findet nicht pic.twitter.com/hZmIcNZK7j

       — deer BSC (@lqzze1) July 20, 2023

       #l？we in #kleinmachnow @polizeiberlin sucht aber findet nicht pic.twitter.com/hZmIcNZK7j

       — deer BSC (@lqzze1) July 20, 2023

       A lioness is on the loose outside Berlin (Image: Express.co.uk)

       Polizei (police) Brandenburg said in a statement that the escaped animal had still not been found.

       Earlier they posted on Twitter: "Please avoid leaving the house due to an escaped wild animal in the Kleinmachnow, Teltow & Stahnsdorf (PM) area and also bring your pets into the house. Our colleagues are on site and checking the situation."

       An alert from the Berlin Fire Service added: "Warning of a free-roaming dangerous wild animal. - Area of ？？the southern state border of Berlin"

       The fire department added: "The wild animal is believed to be a lioness."

       Police in Germany are frantically searching for the animal (Image: AP)

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       According to Tagesspiegel many Berliners in the south of the city were alerted to the news a big cat could be on the loose by he federal governments phone alert system, similar to the national alert system trialled in the UK earlier this year.

       The message sent to Berlin residents read "free running dangerous wild animal".

       In the wild a lioness is capable of running at 45mph when hunting.

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