Dead Black Panther?

A new story has come out of Doncaster, North Yorkshire, England, of a body of a supposed dead black panther.

First, The Star reported (Monday):

"The dead body of a 4ft black panther has been removed from the A1 near Doncaster, according to a lorry driver who saw three workers hauling the big cat from the carriageway this morning.

"Trucker Graham Byram says he witnessed a trio of highway maintenance workers struggling to remove the body of the animal, which was found on the northbound carriageway in the Harworth area earlier today.

"There are fears the animal could be a big cat that was spotted in the Doncaster area earlier this year.

"Mr Byram said: 'I'm not one for being dramatic, but what those workers were removing was definitely something more than a domestic cat.

"'One guy was moving it and one end was up above his waist and the other end was right down by the floor. It was definitely cat like - I have my own domestic cats so could tell instantly.

"'It looked like a big cat of some kind to me, a bit like a black panther.' 

"Mr Byram, a self-employed lorry driver, was traveling from Cambridgeshire to Hull when he spotted the incident unfolding on the A1 northbound about ten miles south of the junction with the M18 at around 11.15am.

"He said: 'These guys were in the southbound carriageway. I could see they were removing something that was in the central reservation.

"'As I got closer, I could see it was a dead animal and then realized it was a cat of some kind. It was far bigger than any cat I have ever seen.

"'It was huge. All I can assume that it was hunting for animals in the dead of night and ended up being hit by a truck or something.'

"Mr Byram, who comes from Peterborough, says he was traveling at about 35mph to 40mph when he saw the incident and estimates that he watched the workers for about 30-40 seconds.

"'I had to do a bit of a double take when I saw what they were moving,' added Mr Byram, 57.

"'I'd say it was about ten times the size of a domestic cat. I'd love to know if anyone else saw it and would love to know the story around what they found.'

"In January this year, another motorist said he had seen a 'panther stalking the Doncaster countryside after he spotted one by the side of the road.

"Alan Tomlinson believes he saw a 'panther' near to junction one of the M180, close to Doncaster services just after midnight on January 4."

But was it really a black panther? According to the road workers, it was not. Below is the relevant part from a new article up on Lincolnshire Live:

"And he [Byram] was right about one thing, it was definitely not a domestic cat.

"It was a different species entirely, Highways England have now confirmed.

"'It was a black dog that was being removed from the side of the A1. We recovered the dog from the lay-by in that area on the southbound carriageway at 10am,' a spokesperson said.

"'Very sadly animals do tend to escape and can stray on to the highways.'"

So who is right - Byram, or the workers? Could he make out that it was a black cat while going by at 40 mph? If he was right about what he saw, why did the workers say it was only a dog?