Читать книгу Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside - Brad Steiger - Страница 27

In 2009, a black panther was reported on August 24 by hikers in the woods in the Meurthe-et-Moselle region of northeast France. Experts from the French Hunting and Wild Fauna Office found tracks that had been left by a very large cat, quite likely a panther.

Within a short period of time, more than a dozen sightings occurred of the black panther roaming throughout France. While some reports brought about jokes of too much wine or too lively an imagination, authorities found a sighting of the panther by a natural sciences teacher to be very credible.

By September, the mysterious, mercurial black panther had made its way to Belgium. On October 27, citizens of Luxemborg sighted the animal walking quite brazenly down the streets of a small community.

Luxemborg authorities took the reports seriously, sending out patrols with dog handlers and a police helicopter with a thermal camera. However, even such seriousness of purpose produced no physical animal to bring home in a cage.

With the exception of zoos, circuses, and the possibility of someone owning a leopard or tiger as a pet, there have been no big cats seeking prey in the forests of Europe since the cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea) became extinct about 2,000 years ago. Cave paintings have been found of this formidable creature, which, according to skeletal remains, appears to have been the largest lion that ever lived, reaching lengths of nearly twelve feet. This subspecies of lion lived as far north as Denmark, though probably existed more comfortably in southeastern Europe.