I’ve had the random stray cat on my porch from time to time, but never anything like this.
A Florida man recently nearly had a heart attack when he discovered a Florida panther – this particular incident will now be referred to as Porch Panther – just chilling on his front porch.
Phil Hendra noticed the Porch Panther while visiting his father just south of the Orange River on March 18.
“It stayed for about 20 minutes and laid down for a bit,” Hendra told the FWC. “It looked at us inside the window then slowly walked away and we have not seen it since.”
“My parents have lived here since 1988 and they may have seen a younger panther about two years ago, but nothing compares to this once in a lifetime experience,” said Hendra.
Sightings of the Florida panther are rare due to the elusive nature of the endangered animal.
Though Porch Panther looks friendly enough, I wouldn’t recommend getting to close.
