Black Panther 'Spotted' in Whitnash
Panthers have a variety of natural habitats - rainforests, mountains, plains - but golf courses in Whitnash would seem an unlikely place to encounter one.
Yet that is precisely what has happened, according to some members of the Leamington and County club. And they have the dead sheep to prove it.
Many have reported seeing a large black feline prowling around the fairways, perhaps enticed by the presence of birdies, eagles and the occasional albatross nearby.
Or maybe the beast has alighted on the wrong Warwickshire golf course. For some species live primarily on deer - yet Stoneleigh Deer Park is a good seven miles away.
Regardless of such speculation, signs have been put up in the clubhouse warning golfers of the presence of the animal. And club secretary David Beck is taking the matter seriously.
He said: "We have had a very large cat roaming the golf course for a little while and there have been sheep remains on the fairway."
Mr Beck claims to have seen a cat "the size of a small dog" from about 200 yards away, but stressed there was no proof the cat was a panther."
And club member Peter Smith confirmed there have been other sightings. He said: "All I can say is that we have had reports that people have seen a big black cat on the golf course."
These are just the latest in a series of reports of large black cats roaming Warwickshire. Suspicious paw prints were found in snow in Kenilworth in 2002, and a creature known as the Beast of Barford has achieved near-mythical status. There have been countless other rumours, but the animal has so far evaded capture by cage or camera.
Some claim the phenomenon stems from the tightening in the 1970s of regulations regarding keeping such beings as pets. A popular theory is that many were released into the wild, and have somehow survived.
The term 'panther' is used to refer to a range of cats, including black leopards and pumas.
Leamington Spa Today: 30th November 2006
