Big Cat Filmed by a Thermal Camera in a Forest: It Is Unknown What Kind of Animal It Might Be (Video)

Lilla Hangai

Published: 2026. 01. 17. 07:30 -

- Photos: Getty Images Hungary • 2 minutes reading

Just as earlier in Hungary, a presumed escaped big cat is now causing major alarm in Germany. A hunter’s thermal camera was unable to show exactly what kind of animal the huge feline is, but as can be seen in the video, it undoubtedly looks cat-like and large.

For more than a year, Hungarian news readers were kept on edge by the wandering “black panther” visible in several camera recordings, whose existence was never confirmed. Recently, however, a specimen really did escape from the local zoo in Giurgiu, Romania. Now the Germans may also wait with a mixture of excitement and fear to see whether a similar story will unfold in their surroundings.

What Could the Mysterious Big Cat Captured on the Thermal Camera Actually Be?

As reported by Vadászlap based on German news sources, the local government of Altenahr, a municipality in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, urged residents to exercise caution following the camera footage. Because of its size, the cat-like creature is certainly not native to the area; however, the fact that no escape of such a large animal has been reported from anywhere somewhat casts doubt on the views of those who believe it to be a big cat.

Of course, it is still possible that the main subject of the footage really is some kind of big cat that was being kept illegally somewhere. Some believe that what appears in the thermal video is an unusually large Maine Coon. After all, some specimens of the largest domestic cat breed can grow to an enormous size, with their weight even reaching 10–12 kilograms.

red and white maine coon in a humans arm

Maine Coons can be enormous

However, we consider it important to point out, based on the video, that the tail of the feline shown is much longer than that of a Maine Coon. And it is also not insignificant for the story that although a Maine Coon can indeed weigh 10–12 kg, this is less common. Presumably, because of such seemingly different details, many consider the animal to be a big cat.

What it actually is still has not been determined, even though the recording is already a month old. Whether it will be seen again, or whether it will vanish just like its counterpart in the Hungarian videos, remains to be seen.