00:00Fact-checking claims about the panther on the loose in Bulgaria.
00:07Bulgaria has been on high alert in recent days following the alleged sighting of a large black cat or panther in the eastern city of Schumann.
00:16Authorities began searching for the animal after a video appeared on social media showing a black silhouette with a tail roaming a park near the monument to the founders of the Bulgarian state.
00:28Such big cats generally feed off animals like rodents and deer, and while there have been reported black cat attacks on humans in Europe before, they are unverified.
00:38Some wild big cat sightings in the likes of the UK and Spain ended up being likely exotic pet escapes,
00:46while similar occurrences in the Netherlands and Germany turned out to be misidentified domestic cats or boars.
00:52Regardless, the situation in Bulgaria has prompted a stream of images, memes and dubious claims online worthy of debunking.
01:00To begin with, yes, Bulgarian authorities really do suspect that a large black cat is on the loose.
01:06According to Euronews' Bulgarian service, regional police in Schumann have warned against visiting the park where the animal was reportedly seen.
01:14The head of Bulgaria's Central Balkan National Park also said it has enlisted the help of the hunting sector and experts from South Africa as authorities continue with their search.
01:24Another video has since emerged, allegedly showing the much younger animal wandering around the Bulgarian countryside two years ago.
01:32However, Euroverify spoke to big cat experts who said that it's more likely a domestic cat in this video,
01:38because big cats typically have larger heads and longer, sleeker tails.
01:43When considering the search for the animal in general, they said it's possible that it escaped from captivity,
01:49lining up with police suspicions that it'd run away from an illegal private zoo owned by organized crime figures.
