The Castala semi-urban park in Berja, Almeria, is closed to the public after several people reported seeing a large black cat in the area.
The mayor of Berja, Antonio Torres, saw the animal himself this morning and said it looked like a Black Panther, although he added that he is not used to seeing such animals.
There have been no circuses in the area for some time and the mayor speculated that it could be someone trying to get rid of the animal although he is not aware of anyone in town who would have been keeping such a creature.
The first to see the animal was a young boy who, fearing no-one would believe him, didn’t report the incident until last Monday, two weeks after the sighting. The Mayor said that, for the boy’s sake, he was glad to have seen the animal himself.
The idea is to try and capture the animal alive. In the meantime, the park remains closed to the public.