'My house cat is a black panther whose best friend is our Rottweiler!'

She’s not your average house cat. She weighs over 50kgs, has a ferocious set of teeth and large, sharp claws. 

Most people would run for their lives if three-year-old black panther Luna approached them, but her owner Victoria, says she's nothing but a big baby who loves cuddles, belly rubs and playtime with her Rottweiler best friend, Venza.

Victoria has taken the big cat's story to social media where she documents her daily life under the name luna_the_pantera.

In many of the videos, Luna is seen climbing trees, jumping from branch to branch, playing in the snow with Venza or licking her furry best friend.

Even though she’s the picture of health, she wasn't always in good shape. 

Luna was born in a travelling zoo in Siberia, Russia and became malnourished after her mother rejected her and refused to feed her when she was just seven days old.

When zookeepers eventually realised she'd been kicked out of her litter, they reached out to Victoria, who had some experience raising big cats, and asked her to nurse the little cub back to health. 

“I agreed to take care of her. Luna has been with me since she was eight days old,” Victoria says.

“This panther has been through a lot of trials and still has some health problems, but in a few years all the existing problems should disappear.”  

Victoria has spared no expense taking care of Luna.

She bought her medication and supplements to build her strength and immunity and she put her on a strict diet to fatten her up.

She even drew up a plan for physical activity for the cub to make sure she gets daily exercise.

Victoria admits that in the beginning she was afraid to tell people that she and her husband had rescued a panther because she worried that the cub wouldn't survive, but when Luna started showing signs of growth and improvement she started sharing videos and photos to social media.

Luna the Panther

 

Coming from Africa as I do, I know that there are very few – if any – of the ‘big’ wild animals (elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, cheetah etc) living in the wild. They are at so much threat from urbanisation and poaching that they tend to only be found in large game reserves. They live the same way they would in the wild, but fenced in. The Kruger National Park, for example,  is the size of Wales and there is no human intervention apart from sometimes filling up waterholes if drought is severe. It’s staggering to think how many animals live there as they would in the wild.

Sometimes, however, animals have to be kept in sanctuaries – for example Birds of Eden and Monkeyland in South Africa where former pets and medical research animals can live out their lives in peace and as natural an environment as possible. Shamwari, a large safari reserve near where I used to live, takes in former circus and zoo lions and keeps them separately in a large area where they can roam free but can also be looked after from a distance. They grew up in captivity so they cannot be let into the enormous sanctuary with animals that have spent their lives being wild.

I have never enjoyed circuses or zoos, although these days things have changed a great deal from when I grew up. Circuses usually only feature horses, if anything. And zoos can be amazing – look at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney Australia for example.

This is why I love Luna the panther. Luna is a black panther/leopard, born in a travelling zoo in Siberia. Her mother rejected her shortly after she was born but this was not noticed by the zoo for some days. Victoria had previous experience rehabilitating wild animals, so was asked to take care of her. Luna almost didn’t make it and still has multiple health issues so cannot be released into the wild. I have loved watching her grow and interact with her family, especially Rottweiler Venza. Luna is now four years old Many people criticise a wild animal being ‘in captivity’ but Luna would not survive in the wild. Victoria also knew exactly what to feed her, how to deal with her. Even Rottweilers like Venza need specific handling and training. Not all animals are easy to handle and it is important to remember that.