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Mysterious Black Panther Making the Headlines Again By Valerie Robinson

Irish Times: 11th February 2008

The Scunthorpe Telegraph
   
WILDLIFE rangers are on the alert after five reported sightings of a large black cat roaming wooded areas in three counties over recent months.
The scare was first sparked in December after a ‘panther’ was spotted by a member of the public out walking in Dundrum, Co Tipperary. Weeks later the animal was seen close to Kilsheelan village on the Waterford/Tipperary border.
Most recently, gardai have received reports from Mount Melleray and Dunmore East in Waterford. The latest sighting took place last weekend at Glenseskin Wood, near Kilworth, close to the Cork/Waterford border.
Wildlife officers have been left puzzled by the sightings, which have taken place several miles apart but have been made by reliable sources.
In the Kilsheelan report an employee of Coillte, the state forestry body, reported to his bosses that he had seen a ‘panther-type animal’ with a ‘big tail’ at Coolishal Wood on January 3.
Cyril Saich, an officer with the Republic’s National Parks and Wildlife Service, told The Irish News that all those interviewed about the sightings said the animal was a black cat similar in size to a large family dog.
“I’ve interviewed several people and they all seem convincing,” he said.
“They’ve reported seeing a large black cat as big as a Labrador. However, we’ve investigated each sighting and have found no evidence of the animal.”
“There have been no tracks, droppings, evidence of kills or hair stuck to barbed wire.”
Mr Saich said wildlife officers and gardai were keeping an open mind about the sightings, adding that while it was known that no private collector had lost a legally-held panther, officials were unaware of large cats being held illegally in the region.
But there have been unconfirmed rumours circulating that one of two panthers imported by a Co Tipperary businessman had recently escaped.
Mr Saich said weather conditions and the distances between sightings may have led some people to mistake a large feral [domestic gone wild] cat for a panther.
He added that while it was unlikely any animal could travel between three counties in such short periods of time, people who believe they see a big cat should contact authorities.
“My advice for anyone walking in wooded areas would be to keep an eye out and report a sighting if they’re sure it’s not just a big dog or [ordinary] cat.”
He also said people should not be tempted to approach the animal, saying that while it would hunt smaller prey like rabbits it could be dangerous if hungry.
The number of reported sightings of big cats in the Irish countryside have spiralled in recent years, with a runaway dog being blamed for the appearance of a ‘large puma-like cat’ near Aughnacloy and Sixmilecross in Co Tyrone in 1999.
The animal was described as being brown and beige and measuring 5ft long and 3ft high. The scare lasted until a local man reported that his St Bernard dog had gone missing.
In 2002 police in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, also issued a public warning after a 4ft-long wildcat-like animal was seen in the area while the following year a puma, which might have escaped from a private college, was being hunted in north Antrim.
A scare in Co Monaghan came to an end four years ago after an animal seen by a local farmer and captured on film turned out to be a domestic cat.
However, some people remained convinced that a wild a cat was on the loose in the region after a young calf was found mauled on a farm near Newbliss.
However, despite all the scares in recent years, Cyril Saich is keen to stress to the public that “it’s still safe for people to go into their local forest’’.

Do you have any information on the above reports. Were you the person involved, or are you aware of any more sightings in this area. We would appreciate any information that you could give us.

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