A new sighting of the elusive black panther has been reported in Bulgaria - this time near the Beli Lom dam on the road to Ruse. The predator, which has been the subject of an active search across the Shumen plateau for over a week, was allegedly seen by a man traveling in a private vehicle.

The man submitted a report to the emergency number 112, alerting authorities to the animal’s presence on the main road. The Shumen Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior has confirmed the signal, bTV reported.

At this stage, it remains unclear whether the search will now be expanded to the area near Ruse. So far, coordinated efforts in and around the Shumen plateau have failed to yield any signs of the animal’s whereabouts.

Despite daily checks and monitoring by local teams over the past week, the black panther has left no physical traces behind. The latest report raises new questions about the predator’s current location and whether it may have moved farther from its previously suspected territory.