'Hybrid-panther' caught on camera prowling through Scots village

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A 'hybrid panther' has been spotted stalking through a Scots village, according to a local who captured footage of the 'well solid looking' animal.Gordon Welsh was walking near Blackdog, Aberdeenshire, when the animal caught his eye and he insists it could not possibly be a cat.The 50-year-old big cat spotter described the animal as being the size of a greyhound - if not bigger - and believes it was a mix between a panther and another species.As reporter in the Mirror, Gordon has worked as a fishing and hunting guide, a deerstalker and a farmhand in the past, so he knows "the difference between a domestic cat, a feral cat and that cat."He captured the incident on camera and the footage shows the beast limping down the hillside before it disappears into the long grass of the field.Gordon said: "I was just walking at the time and I’ve just seen it like limping – that’s what caught my eye.

I was like ‘the hell is that?’ But then I was like ‘it’s nae a cat, it’s too big."Gordon believes that the UK has its own big cat population, including panthers and pumas, and said that this is not his first encounter. Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. He commented: "From the way it was moving, the tail size and that, it was slightly like a panther, but it could be a crossbreed.

I’ve seen ‘em plenty of times, I’ve seen lynx, I’ve seen panthers, I’ve seen crossbreeds – they’re all over the place, trust me.

To be quite honest with you, most will think you mad, but these things are out there, as a certainty."After sharing the footage to the Scottish big cat sighting Facebook page, fellow believers commented on the clip and agreed it looked like a black panther.On