Runway rascal

A wild cat on the loose in a town or city is something to be scared of for obvious reasons.

But the sketchy reports on the sightings of a black panther that apparently escaped from its private owner some two months ago and has since been roaming the small town of Shumen in Bulgaria are now the subject of funny and viral memes on social media.

The panther transformed from notorious to famous as the long wait for its capture was mocked by portraying it as intrepidly mingling incognito with locals.

The memes show the animal playfully hiding, partying, playing traditional Bulgarian music, and trying to socialize with stray cats—somehow sustaining netizens’ interest, Balkan Insight reports.

One meme shows the panther in a coat amid an unmindful crowd entering a theater, and another depicts it on a mocked-up 20 euro note, according to Balkan Insight.

Meanwhile, another wild animal spotted running on an airport runway in Japan disrupted flights.

The furry intruder appeared and disappeared at northern Japan’s Yamagata Airport early morning of 26 June, delaying four flights by an hour as staff scrambled to search for it.

It reemerged at noon, running on the runway, so the airport closed again as staff drove in cars to chase it.

“Given the situation, there is no way we can host plane arrivals now,” Yamagata Airport official Akira Nagai told Agence France-Presse Thursday evening, adding the second closure led to 12 flight cancellations.

Hunters were called in, and they set up a trap for the pesky black bear while police cordoned off the airport to prevent its escape.