The Vojvodina Sume forestry company warned on Thursday that a black panther had been sighted in the Apatin area along Serbia's borders with Croatia and Hungary.

The press release warned that the predator was dangerous and appealed for caution. It said any sightings of the panther should be reported to the police immediately.

The Sombor.info portal quoted farmers who reported seeing the animal just outside a wooded area outside nearby villages. They said the panther probably walked out into the open to avoid hunters who were hunting pheasants on the other side of the woods.

The portal recalled reports of a black panther having escaped captivity just across the border in Hungary about a year earlier. The area between Sombor and the Hungarian town is covered in woodlands offering the animal a refuge.