Chit in a freaking zoo is not the same as animals being indigenous to an area. Sad that I even have to point this out. Could one animal escape from a zoo or sanctuary? Sure, but that would be a double rare occurrence. Black leopards and jaguars are rare to start with and such a rare animal escaping from a sanctuary or zoo would be much rarer still. Not to mention such an animal raised in a zoo or sanctuary if not rapidly recovered would starve to death in a week. There is no way in flaming hell that such a bizarre rare occurrence is the genesis of all the people claiming to see black panthers from every corner of this state and it's ridiculous to keep pushing this as a viable explanation for it.