CARL WRITES: Panther on the Roof

The existence of Alien Big Cats (ABC’s) around the world are typically considered to be highly unlikely by most experts owing to the lack of convincing evidence. Typically, the evidence consists of poor quality videos and photographs, ambiguous spoor, eye witness accounts, and the occasional controversial hair sample.

Current interest in big cat reports in Britain stems from the late 1950’s, with news stories of the Surrey Puma and the so called Fen Tiger, however, in October 1980, a puma, later christened Felicity by zoo keepers at the Highland Wildlife Park, was captured alive in Inverness-shire in Scotland and positively identified as a puma (Puma concolor). However, the case of Felicity has long been conveniently believed to be either wholly or partly faked.

Zoo director Eddie Orbell concluded that Felicity had been tamed and might not have been wild for long. So, no real mystery there it seems! In my professional opinion, there is no real mystery concerning big cats in Britain at all, for the majority of credible reports on file are simply those of escaped or released animals, and only occasionally (in my view) do these animals find each other and breed; producing a second generation.

OOP populations are probably not sustained via breeding and are more likely regularly ‘topped up’ by new escaped and/or released pets, often illegally purchased. These cats have very large territories and live for many years, so there need not be the hundreds (or even thousands) of big cats often claimed by the many big cat investigators involved.

It is completely true that typically most of the evidence for non-native big cats is poor. I myself find that the majority of reports are down to large domestic cats and dogs and other native species being wrongly identified (sometimes intentionally), but, in my opinion, the fact that Felicity was once a domestic animal doesn’t necessarily discredit her case, as most of the true big cats in Britain and elsewhere are likewise feral escaped/released animals.

This is also the case for the young black leopard (Panthera pardus) found recently prowling the roofs of a northern French town. The animal, weighing approx. 20kg (45lb) is about six months old, and about the size of a small Labrador dog. It had been domesticated and was reported to be unaggressive when encountered. A vet was then called who tranquilised the animal with a sedative dart.

Following its capture the panther was caged and handed over to wildlife officials who then handed it over to the Animal Protection League. It has since been transferred to an as of yet undisclosed location.

Even though this isn’t a British case, it’s refreshing to see good clear photographs (from various angles) which undoubtedly show a black leopard, albeit a young one.

A police source told La Voix du Nord (The Voice Of The North) that only a zoo would be able to obtain a permit to keep such an animal; hence it was most likely an illegal exotic pet. Police want to speak to the panther’s owner for endangering the public and to also find out where it came from.

If this animal had found itself in a more rural location it’s possible it would have disappeared into the wild, and if not recaptured en route, could have become a genuine ABC, much like Felicity was for an unknown period of time.

Leopards have a life expectancy of 12 – 17 years and can travel great distances undetected, and thrive in a variety of habitats including forests, mountains and grasslands. Territorial sizes vary geographically depending on the habitat and availability of prey. Therefore if the above panther had not been recaptured, it could have become responsible for starting many ABC reports over a large territory for many years.

Wherever it came from, it’s a pleasure to view perfect clear images of this stunning animal!

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