Mid-Canterbury's black panther has come back. Several people have sighted what they say was a panther around the Ashburton area since 2001. Now a man walking his dog has reported seeing the animal at the PPCS meatworks in Fairton, 8km north of Ashburton. Pat Hannan was out with his dog Brandy on Sunday morning when he stumbled upon the black cat. "I saw it behind a fence near the stock yards at the plant. I thought it was a dog at the start but then I saw the tail and had another look and it was definitely not a dog or cat or possum or anything like that." Mr Hannan said the panther was around one metre tall and its tail was its most defining feature. "It [the tail] was about as long as its body." The panther was first spotted near Alford Forest in 2001.

It reappeared in October when stock truck driver Chad Stewart saw what appeared to be the phantom cat on a property in Mayfield, 35km northwest of Ashburton. Despite the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and big-cat experts looking for the panther, no positive signs of it were found.

View: Full Article | Source: New Zealand Herald