"It's a fat cat, not a panther": Head of Provincial Inspection tells Telegraf about the search for the beast

Photo montage: Provincial Inspectorate, Shutterstock

The search for a black panther in northern Serbia is still ongoing, and the Vrbas Municipal Emergencies HQ held a meeting after information appeared that the animal had been seen in the territory of that municipality.

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However, the head of Vojvodina Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection Nemanja Ivanovic still believes that it is unlikely that that it in Vrbas, judging by the videos that are being shared on social networks.

As he told Telegraf.rs, the animal was always reporttedly spotted in more remote areas and far from people, and he believes that it is unlikely that it just walked into a populated place.

"In my opinion, none of the panther stories are true. Regardless, we remain on standby and await further information. For now, there is no relevant evidence that would change my opinion," explained Ivanovic.

The search for the black panther began on November 12 in the vicinity of Banja Junakovic, where the animal was allegedly filmed for the first time. After a tip-off from Feketic, the teams searching for the wild cat moved to that place, while Vrbas was the last to be searched.

Drones with thermal imaging cameras were used, as well as hand-held thermal imaging devices, but Ivanovic confirms that not even the slightest trace confirming that the wild beast was there has been found.

"We searched high and low and the assumption is that this is a domestic cat that got a little fat. There are no traces, nor is there anything else anywhere. We are still on standby, people from fisheries have increased their presence on the ground," he added.

The chief comments on the claims of certain media that dogs were torn apart in the vicinity of Vrbas, as well as that a panther was seen entering people's yards by saying this is most likely untrue and wonders why no one reported to the police or the Inspectorate that their pet was missing or killed.

"We plead on citizens not to spread panic and we appeal not to spread information that a dog got torn apart, because no one reported anything similar to the Vrbas Police Department, the Zoo Hygiene Service or veterinarian offices. In our opinion, this is nonsense, because if someone misses (a pet), of course they will first inform relevant services. On the other hand, an autopsy could be done that would easily prove what caused a dog's death, and we would automatically exclude certain options," Ivanovic concluded his conversation with our portal.

The police from Apatin, game keepers from the public company Vojvodinasume and workers from Voda Vojvodine use drones to search for the animal. The plan is to, once the panther is located, sedate it and transport it to the Palic Zoo.

(Telegraf.rs)