Tradie's huge footprint find in back garden reignites 'black panther' theory
A startled tradie working on the fringes of Australia's biggest city is convinced he's uncovered fresh proof that the legendary "Australian panther" could really be more than just a myth.
For decades, whispers of a large, shadowy, feline predator lurking in the Blue Mountains have fuelled Sydney's most mysterious urban legend. Locals claim to have caught fleeting glimpses of the sleek, black beast — always vanishing before anyone could properly confirm its identity.
Despite multiple claimed sighting, no bodies, clear photographs or DNA proof have ever been found. But now, landscaper Dan believes he's stumbled upon evidence that will reignite the debate.
While laying turf in Kenthurst on Sunday morning — just a stone's throw from the mountains — he spotted something eerie: A set of fresh, deep paw prints pressed into the compacted sand.
Dan said the sand was "compacted enough" that he could "walk on it and not leave a mark" — yet somehow the animal in question was able to leave deep imprints.
And that's not all, the Sydney tradesman believes the beast wasn't alone. "It's something that was quite big, and it definitely drew my attention," he told 9News, adding that there was "one bigger" and "one smaller" set of tracks.
Related: Shock video shows 'black panther' bounding through farm
Related: Footage of 'black panther' sighting on Aussie property
A resident of the area, Dan said "there's been a few nights" out in the bush "where you hear things" and "it's not exactly right". Placing his size 11 sandal next to the imprint in the sand, the true size of the alleged paw can be seen.
"The second video that I got [shows] the stride of the thing, where it's like, it's probably close to two metres in between each stride," he said.
In the past, sightings of the mysterious panther have either been too fleeting to corroborate or have turned out to be a domestic or feral cat.
America has Bigfoot, Scotland has the Loch Ness Monster and we have the Blue Mountains Panther...Now, there's fresh evidence adding to the folklore of the big cat - or cats - roaming Sydney's outskirts. @DaltsWorld #9News pic.twitter.com/kbBI1XSJ3p
— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) February 5, 2025
In April, a Ballarat prospector who claims to have seen a panther-shaped "blackness in the paddock". convinced himself it was a "big cat of some sort".
In June, footage purporting to show a "huge" black cat was shared by a property owner after she found it strolling calmly through long grass near Moree, in Northern NSW.
Wildlife experts and government investigations have never found proof of big cats in Australia. Studies examining scat, footprints, and alleged sightings typically conclude that the animals in question were feral cats, dogs, or native species like swamp wallabies.
Feral cats exist in plague proportions in Australia, and together with their domesticated cousins, are responsible for killing some 1.5 billion native mammals, birds, reptiles, and frogs each year.
So while logic says these sightings are nothing more than oversized and overfed regular cats, try convincing the die-hard panther believers — because in the gullies and scrubs of the Blue Mountains, some mysteries apparently refuse to die.
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