By Hajer M'tiri
PARIS
The search for the wild animal, which has been on the loose around the town of Montevrain near Paris since Thursday, has been suspended, French authorities disclosed on Friday night.
Earlier, local authorities announced that the animal is not a tiger as had been believed; it is just a large cat.
After a hunt lasting nearly 24 hours, the search has been suspended and "is not expected to resume on Saturday," French TV channel Europe 1 reported, as authorities believe that "the cat is not dangerous to humans."
Seine-et-Marne police said on Friday that the large animal seen roaming about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the French capital was "not likely to be a tiger, but a different species of large cat."
"After an investigation carried out by the National Hunting and Wildlife Office in conjunction with the Parc de Felins, we can exclude the presence of an animal from the tiger species. The feline... is still being hunted," Seine-et-Marne police said in a statement.
French police, gendarmes and hundreds of soldiers restarted the search at 7 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) on Friday after it was suspended on Thursday night.
'Greatest precautions'
A helicopter equipped with a thermal camera had continued scanning the area until dawn without success, according to Seine-et-Marne police.
The search is being concentrated around the A4 highway between the towns of Bussy-Saint-Georges and Ferrieres-en-Brie - a major artery between Paris and eastern France.
Local authorities have asked drivers to take "the greatest precautions" on the highway.
It remains unclear where the animal has come from.
'Kill or capture'
A spokeswoman for the Seine-et-Marne police earlier denied media reports the "big cat" came from a traveling circus which visited the town last week.
Officials at EuroDisney, the operator of Disneyland Paris where the animal was first spotted, also denied reports the animal belonged to the theme park, saying no tigers were kept on the site.
Residents in Montevrain put out a news alert on the town's Facebook page after first spotting the animal roaming around a supermarket car park.
Police have said they want to capture the animal alive.
A police spokeswoman said: "We're going to try and sedate it but, if it becomes dangerous or aggressive, we will give the order to kill it."
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