Report from Nick Wirsten
'Panther' goes to ground
From the Hawick News 15 th November 2001
THE panther-like cat seen around the Mansfield area has seemingly gone to ground.
No fresh sightings have been reported since the "News" printed a photograph of the black feline two weeks ago.
Nigel Colvin, assistant depot manager at Jackson Tool Hire, who first reported seeing the cat, told the "News": " It"s probably long gone now.
"Since the "News" ran the story many customers have been telling me of their sightings as well.
"It would seem it has been around the Bonchester area in the past, I"m sure it"s still out there."
Although no further reports have been made, police are remaining open minded. Sergeant Keith Cunningham told us: "Nothing has come in this week, but I don"t think we"ve heard the last of this."
The "News" has checked with zoo's and wildlife parks, but they don"t have any large cats missing.
A spokesman for Edinburgh Zoo said: "There are strict licensing laws on keeping wild animals, and I"m not aware of anyone in the Borders who keeps large cats. These animals can travel great distances so I couldn"t say for definite that this is just a normal domestic cat.
Hawick News, 15 th November 2001
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