A black panther is typically a colour variant of any of several species of larger cat. In the Americas, wild 'black panthers' may be black jaguars (Panthera onca), while in Asia and Africa, black leopards (Panthera pardus); in Asia, possibly the very rare black tigers (Panthera tigris). Smaller wild cats, like jaguarundi, may also be black.
There have been many sightings of the Macarthur Panther in Appin.
2011 Camden’s Paul Fuller and Jarred Seedsman, both 17, were trailbike riding in bushland at Appin on Tuesday when they filmed the panther-like creature. It is believed to be the first footage ever shot of the elusive beast, which has been seen repeatedly across the Macarthur and Sydney regions for more than a decade.
Jarred was filming their ride near the Appin motocross centre using a mobile phone attached to his bike’s handlebars. He captured Paul’s shock at seeing the cat as well as the creature crossing the track ahead of the riders.
Paul described the animal as unlike any other he had seen.
“I am almost 100 per cent sure it had to be a panther - it was running quickly, really fast,” he said. “We were going about 40km/h when it jumped out in front of us and it was probably going just as fast as we were.”
The boys went home after the sighting to research the animal on the internet.
“When I found a picture of a panther I thought ‘yeah it looks exactly like this’. It would have been above my knee in height, about two foot, and its tail was really long. It had a fat face, short nose and it was all black,” Paul said. Both teens are adamant they saw a panther, not a dog or feral cat.
Other Appin sightings include
1970's The Panther was spotted at Inghams Enterprise's Sheds
2007 Mark Flood and friends saw Panther on side of road
In the first six caches there is a clue regarding the possible species of this panther. Record each as it will be needed to find the final cache.
The cache is placed in bushland near the paintball centre. So you might be lucky as the gun fire may scare the panther away.</>
Inside the cache is a clue to the species of the panther. Record the species and the cache it was found in as they will be needed to find the final cache.