It feeds on animals the size of dogs, cats, and goats. The panther is not the only big cat that has been spotted in Hungary lately.Continue reading
As we reported earlier, a surveillance camera installed on the outskirts of Kiskunhalas showed a big cat, identified by many as a black panther. The animal has now potentially been seen in Kecskemét. Police are searching for it with several units.
“At first I only noticed a moving black spot. I thought it might be a deer or a dog. Then I took out a high-performance camera and zoomed in. Then I saw that it was probably the panther walking around,” said Csaba Ugrina, who spotted the big cat.
The black panther was also thought to be seen in Ballószög. According to hiros.hu, it jumped in front of a bus.
The police were informed by the witness, and experts from the Kecskemét Wildlife Park also went to the scene, although animal keepers do not think it likely that the animal would have reached Kecskemét.
As we have written before, the African predator cannot tolerate the sub-zero temperatures, and since it has probably never hunted before, foraging could become a serious problem for it. Since no wildlife parks or zoos have reported a missing animal, it is possible that someone has kept it illegally.
Animal caretakers do not think that it is likely that the big cat would have made it to Kecskemét, but they cannot rule out the possibility.
The video below shows the area where the panther was last seen. It mentions that the footprints of a large dog were also found there.
Featured image: illustration via Pixabay
