A black panther gave the small French town of Armentières quite the fright when residents spotted it walking the rooftops Wednesday afternoon.
The “Panther of Armentieres”, was reportedly prowling in and out of a second-story window for almost an hour as it wandered along the gutter of a block of six houses.
Firefighters, police, and animal experts were called to the scene, where officials formed a cordon in case the animal jumped while officials carefully snuck inside so as not to startle the felinee.
When the animal once again retreated back inside, firefighters placed a ladder along the gutter to block the window as others snuck in through the door. A vet tranquilized the cat after around 2.5 hours.
« Ce monde devient fou » C’est un mantra que je répète régulièrement…
— antonbundle (@antonbundle) September 18, 2019
Tu sors promener ton chien après le boulot, tu vois flics et pompiers au loin… Et là, stupeur, on t’annonce qu’une panthère noire se balade sur les chêneaux !!! ?
Images ci-dessous chopées sur FB ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/HW0BsK4qwX
The cat is no more than five to six months old and is relatively small, about the size of a “small labrador” weighing around 20 kilograms (44 pounds). Manicured claws and its relatively docile demeanor suggests the animal has been domesticated by an owner.
La panthère d’Armentières recueillie cette nuit à la LPA de Lille a été transférée #Armentières #panthère https://t.co/emxx9dr9aX pic.twitter.com/eWc9T7pBzR
— LA VDN par La Voix du Nord (@lavoixdunord) September 19, 2019
After its capture, the cat was transported to a wildlife agency for the night before being relocated to the Maubeuge Zoo located about an hour outside of the small town.
Black “panthers” are really just leopards (Panthera pardus) or jaguars (Panthera onca) with a black coat. Both species are primarily threatened by human activities that include development, agriculture, energy production hunting, trapping and the exotic pet trade.
Police are reportedly looking for the owner of the Panther of Armentieres. And of course he remains unknown…
