A wild dog which had been confused with an escaped lioness has been shot dead by rural workers in Tarragona after a four day search by some 40 people.

It was finally found in the Mas de la Menescala area where some cages had been set up in an attempt to capture the animal alive, but finally that was not possible. As night was falling on Wednesday tranquilisers were also ruled out because of the time they would have taken to act, and so the decision was made to bring down the animal.

The cinnamon coloured beast was more than 1.5 metres long and stood some 75 centimetres high. The animal is thought to be a cross between two dangerous breeds, and reports say it is similar to a dogo or mastiff breed.

It had not been microchipped and had had some old injuries to its neck and ears leading the rural agents to think it had been living wild for some time.