Photos rekindle Canterbury panther legend

Rumours that a creature resembling a black panther is stalking the foothills of mid-Canterbury have been revived by reports of a new sighting.

Timaru man Mark Brosnahan, who has a bach at Lake Clearwater, photographed "a large black animal" in the hills overlooking the bach settlement last week.

He was on his way back from taking photos in the hills when he saw the animal approaching up a valley.

"I decided to take a photo and while removing my pack the animal heard me and crouched to the ground and watched me."

He took two photos before the animal ran off.

Mid-Canterbury's mysterious black panther was first spotted near Alford Forest in 2001. It reappeared in October when stock truck driver Chad Stewart reported a sighting on a Mayfield property.

The cat was also spotted near the PPCS meatworks at Fairton in October 2003.

Pat Hannan, who was walking his dog at the time, said the cat was behind a fence near the works stockyards.

"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."

Big cat experts have failed to find any trace of the beast.

Ashburton canvas maker Peter May saw a similar animal 18 months ago, but did not report it because he thought no one would believehim.

He saw the animal near Blowing Pt Bridge, on the main Ashburton Gorge Road from Mt Somers to the Lake Clearwater settlement.

Mr May said it was rumoured the animal had escaped from a private zoo.

"It is definitely from the feline family and definitely enormous."

He said the animal spotted by Mr Brosnahan was on one of the many walking tracks in the area.

The tracks were about 30cm wide and photographs showed the animal was at least as wide as the track.

He said it could be surviving on possums and rabbits, because there were no reports of stock losses in the area. It was possible there was more than one, or that it was a different variety of cat.

Department of Conservation officer for the area Graeme Crump said it was possible - but not probable - that a big cat could be living in the foothills.

He said feral cats were a problem in the area and threatened native creatures. They lived on larger prey like rabbits, but were adaptable enough to eat crickets and other wildlife.

He said predator control was carried out regularly in the lakes area to protect special bird populations, but only domestic cats turned wild had been caught.

- NZPA