A woman has reported seeing a massive black panther with a tail measuring about a meter long on a remote dirt road in regional Victoria.
Amanda Dutton described the encounter, which took place on Saturday afternoon near Mt Beauty, about an hour south of Albury in Victoria. According to her, the large animal ran across the road in front of her car.
Rumors about large black cats roaming Australia’s bushlands have circulated for years, with no solid evidence to confirm their existence.
Ms. Dutton recounted the sighting to the ABC, explaining that she was driving with her children from a football game when they saw the panther dart off the dirt road and disappear into the bush.
“It was as tall as our kitchen bench,” she said, describing how shocked they were. “We had to stop the car because we were so freaked out.”
When Ms. Dutton arrived at the Mitta Brewery and told her friends about the experience, they laughed and referred to it as the “Mitta panther,” a nod to local folklore.
This sighting adds to similar reports about mysterious black cats in regional Australia. A 2012 inquiry into the possible existence of these creatures in Victoria suggested that people were likely mistaking large feral cats for panthers.
Earlier this year, in January, another witness, 36-year-old carpenter Michael Corr, reported seeing a black panther while walking through the Tootgarook wetlands, southeast of Melbourne, with his 11-year-old son. He captured a quick photo before the animal disappeared into the reeds.
Despite numerous sightings, large black cats in Australia remain unconfirmed.
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