AN escaped black PANTHER sent shockwaves through a French town yesterday after it was seen roaming rooftops
  The big cat prowled the streets of Armentieres, near Lille in northern France, before being captured by authorities after being shot with a tranquilizer gun fired by a local vet
   According to security sources, the beast's owner has gone on the run and is being hunted by cops
  Witness Victor Lefranc tweeted: "Imagine relaxing at home in Armentieres and a black panther passes in front of the window
"  He posted a video of the beast after she escaped from her owner, who has not been named, on Wednesday evening
  "The Panther was calm and clearly well domesticated, but still considered a danger," said a security source involved in the recapture operation
  "It took two hours to get her in a position where she could be trapped, and then a vet used a gun to fire a hypodermic tranquilizer at the animal as it tried to climb into a window
  "She was taken to an animal refuge centre and is in good shape. Her owner is known to police, but has gone on the run
" BIG CAT ON LOOSE  There was no chip on the Panther, or registration documents associated with her, suggesting she was "a black market animal who had been trafficked into France illegally," said the source
  Detectives said they found an oversized dog basket and food which was clearly set out for the Panther in a nearby house
  The Panther was today at the Protestant League of Lille (LPA) shelter in the city, where she spent the night in a blacked out cage aimed at reducing stress
  "She's quite young," said an LPA spokesman. "She’s like Labrador."   The spokesman said there were signs that the animal’s claws had been illegally cut down, to avoid her hurting anyone
  "She would have difficulty feeding and climbing trees because of this," said the spokesman, adding: "But she was otherwise healthy, with a good coat
"  The LPA has now contacted the zoo in nearby Maubeuge, in the hope that she can find a new home there
  One local policeman told the Voix du Nord newspaper: "In twenty years of working, I have never seen anything like it
 A snake, yes. But not a big cat like that."  A Black Panther is not a species, but a reference to the colour of types of leopards or jaguars
   The blackness is caused by the agouti gene, which regulates the distribution of black pigment within the hair shaft
  The gene is most common in leopards from Africa and Asia and in jaguars from South America
  Those who appear in countries such as France and Britain are invariably zoo escapees or released pets that had been held illegally, possibly because they became too difficult to manage
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