Panther killed by poison

GUNUNGKIDUL, Yogyakarta: A small black panther was killed recently in Botodayaan, Rongkop district, after eating a poisoned chicken that a villager had placed near his son's grave.

"My neighbor poisoned the panther because he was worried that it would dig up the grave and eat his son's corpse," Antara quoted villager Warsito as saying Tuesday.

"My neighbors took the panther's skin, its toenails and whiskers, but I could get nothing," Warsito complained.

Later in the night two black panthers, apparently the dead animal's parents, entered the village and scratched the wall of the house of the family who poisoned the panther, Warsito said.

During the dry season, panthers sometimes enter villages in the search for water. (prb)