Panther 'caught'?

'Panther gets himself caught'
27 April 2007
Mudgee Guardian

The Kains Flat 'panther' has been caught. The cat was again sighted near the same place when first sighted by the McGuinness family two weeks ago.
‘Panther watcher' Norm Flynn sighted a large black cat last Friday night (April 20) and believes it to be the same animal seen by the McGuinness'.
"I feel this cat is what was seen the previous Friday as it was traveling back from the direction it was seen going," Mr Flynn said.
It was 600mm in body length and 330mm to the shoulder with long fur of more than 50mm.
"I was unable to find any evidence to support a bigger cat in the area at this time. It would have been hard for them to estimate the size of the cat and compare it to sheep when the cat was in the foreground and that would make the cat look larger.
"All the same this was a very large feral cat, made look bigger because of the length of his coat, which I believe was because it was probably of Persian breed origin."
However, Mr Flynn still believes there are panther size cats in the district and would like to hear from anyone who sees what would appear to be a larger than normal sized feline.
"I have no doubt that there is a panther size cat in the district," he said. "Sightings need to be investigated well and soon after a sighting.
"I would like to hear of any new sightings whether they be in the Kains Flat area or any other part of the Central West."