Big Cat sighting in France?
May 27, 2007
I am not suggesting one bit I have seen a black Panther but I have certainly seen a rather large black cat this afternoon and I managed to get a photo before it spotted me and took off into the hedgerow.
I was approx 100m away using the zoom. When I first spotted it it was coming towards me as I rounded a bend. By the time I had pulled into a side track hoping to hide the car and get out with the camera it had passed level and by the time I had got into a position to take the photograph it was heading away from me.
I am slightly on a higher level so I am looking down on it. I wanted to take a video but I was unsure I could flick through the menu and get the film rolling in time so I opted for a photo.
Looking at the wild cat sighting sites it would appear the tail is not long enough to be an 'exotic' cat but the neck certainly looks longer than a domestic cat and the body is elongated too. I would say that it was one and a half times the size of a domestic cat and pure black.
France has a lot of feral cats so it would not be unusual to see a cat in a field or cross a road away from any apparent habitation.
If there are any cat experts, perhaps you can tell me, if it is possible to see enough detail, what the type of cat is and what would make it so large?