Last Year's Heald Green Panther Picture
|
More Sightings of "Black Panther" in Northenden
By Borax Nippletwister April 2007
Early last month, numerous reports of a large black cat on the loose near Heald Green were circulating and have been submitted, along with pictures and video footage, to local newspapers including the Manchester Evening News as well as Northenden.Net and our sister website which is run by the Civic Society.
The reported sightings have stirred up so much interest locally that a large number of people, including pensioners, have been whipped up into a frenzy and there has been concern that a riot may ensue either at the social club or outside the post office on Thursday morning.
Our exclusive picture shows the cat on the fields adjacent to Style Road in Heald Green. There have also been alleged sightings in Northenden village, including an incident in which the creature was seen rummaging through bin bags outside the shops on Palatine Road opposite Heyridge Drive in the small hours of the morning. We traced several local residents who regularly use these facilities in the early hours but were unable to find anyone who was prepared to corroborate the allegation, despite our reporter's assurance that we are nothing to do with the police, the Church or the Civic Society.
To get to the bottom of the mystery, we spent several nights waiting in the car park behind the shops on Palatine Road to see if the panther appeared. After several nights of comings and goings, we gave up as we were arrested several times and this was significantly reducing the amount of time available for investigative journalism. We were also becoming increasingly annoyed that the police seemed to prefer their own impression of the type of "cat" we were looking for (the police's cat is significantly smaller and rhymes with "wussy").
Due to these technical problems, we gave up on the search for the animal but there have since been developments. Firstly we have come into posession of two more pieces of photographic evidence, which we exclusively present for you now. Secondly and more importantly, we have sworn statements, from Doctor John Foster from Gloucester, and expert analysis of Dr. Foster's work from an expert on panthers.
Exclusive New Pictures of Northenden Panther
Panther Sighted on Roundwood Estate
|
Panther Sighted in Churchyard
|
Dr. John Foster posted a message on the Northenden Computer which reads
I'm glad someone else has seen the panther. Just after christmas I saw it early one morning rummaging around in the rubbish bags behind the take-aways on Paletine Rd (they have to to be a health hazzard ?). I was a little scared at the time but once it saw me it ran. You should have seen the mess it left as it had ripped the rubbish bags open. I haven't seen it since but I did read there were sightings in one of the fields on your right as you drive down Styal Rd towards Heald Green. Any one got a photo of it. What a picture for our webmaster that would make.
Anyway, I like the site. My last visit was a month or so ago - I'm sure there were more guest book entries then. Have they been archived ? No surprise really as my grandson told me it costs a lot to run a website and all the storage and things.
Dr. Foster's comments about the panther prompted a response from panther expert Maria Martins who told our sister website the following.
I have been reading the guestbook with great interest, especially the comments about the recent Panther sightings in Northenden.
The term ‘Black Panther’ is quite often used in connection with large black cats - however there is no one distinct species of wild cat called a Black Panther. Over the years it has become used as a common name which can be applied to any large black coated cat. When you see a picture of a Black Panther it is most likely that you are looking at either a Leopard or possibly a Jaguar with Melanistic colouration.
Great website, I have now bookmarked the site so I can pay another visit very soon.
Northenden.Net would like to thank Dr. Foster and Ms. Martins for their expert opinion and valued insight into sightings of panthers in the Northenden area.