A mystery animal seen at the Maafaru airport has been deemed to not pose any threat.
A video showing the feline animal that appeared to be larger than a cat near the Maafaru airport runway emerged on social media yesterday. A group of soldiers arrived on the island today to conduct an operation to find the animal.
The Maafaru council said in a statement that a dangerous animal such as a tiger or any other non-native animal has not been found by the soldiers so far.
"As they have informed that the animal in the video is not believed to be dangerous after analyzing the video being circulated, we inform the public of this," the Maafaru council said in the statement.
The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) decided that the animal was a large black cat, Adhadhu has learned.
Amid speculation on social media that it was a tiger or some other wild animal, the video being circulated incited fear that the animal could attack people on the island.
The video of the animal walking on a high mound near the airport runway was recorded by foreign employees of the Maafaru airport. It was reported to the MNDF yesterday.
Non-native species of animals have previously washed ashore on some islands. But they were all sea creatures such as crocodiles or seals. Such animals are taken under the care of the military.
