Police looking for escaped mountain lion in northern France

French media reported that the animal is a North American mountain lion, but it is not certain what kind of feline it is or how it ended up loose in the countryside.

The prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais region said in a statement on Twitter that a big feline had been spotted several times between the municipalities of Frevent and Auxi-le-Chateau and that police and wildlife specialists had found tracks of a big cat. It has given permission to wildlife authorities to shoot the animal.

A petition https://www.change.org/p/le-pr%C3%A9fet-du-pas-de-calais-prefet62-justice-et-respect-pour-le-puma-auxilois on Change.org to save the animal's life has gathered more than 35,000 signatures. It said the animal is believed to be an American puma. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Sandra Maler)