The mystery of the black panther reportedly seen in Romania continues, after initially being spotted a few days ago in Bulgaria.
It was said that the animal was seen in Giurgiu, on Sunday night to Monday, but was not found, as reported by Antena3.
Then, two individuals in the town of Năsturelu called 112 on Tuesday night to report that they had seen the black panther. Once again, authorities did not find the animal.
Last night, locals from Năsturelu once again claimed to have seen the panther, after it was reportedly filmed by two children. The gendarmes searched for the feline all night, but found no trace.
The panther is being sought after by a predator expert who came from South Africa. Traps have been set, and the border police announce continuous aerial monitoring with the help of drones.
"Terror" in Bulgaria
The story of the black panther started in Bulgaria, where the animal reportedly escaped from a private zoo, a place where - according to the police - the illegal breeding of large felines is a practice among organized crime.
For the past two weeks, Bulgarian authorities have been intensively searching for the predator, using thermal camera drones, traps, and bait, but without success.
"We have no new information at the moment, the search continues," said Dian Dimitrov, vice-governor of the Shumen region, recently.
Video footage of the silhouette of the panther - a black form with a long tail - has gone viral on social media, becoming the subject of jokes and misinformation.
Two days ago, Associate Professor Dr. Stoian Lazarov, a zoologist at the National Museum of Natural History within the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, told Nova TV that the paw print circulated as evidence could actually belong to a large dog.