Panther

From Wild Southwest Wiki

No one is quite sure where the panthers came from. Some say they escaped from zoos and private collections in the chaos of the Great War. Others say they've always been around, hiding in the wilderness, unseen by humans. In any case large, black panthers exist in the Southwest, and though rarely encountered can be extremely dangerous.

Fortunately they tend to avoid humans. Problems only arise when a panther becomes too old, sick or injured to hunt normally, and may turn to humans or their domestic animals as an easier source of prey. Children in particular are in danger in this kind of situation - the first sign that a panther has gone rogue is often a child vanishing then being found horribly mutilated halfway up a tree.

Thankfully attacks such as these are increasingly rare, as are sightings of panthers. It is the opinion of those who've studied the matter that the panthers - unsuited to the post-war environmental conditions - are dying out. Some go so far as to say that they are now extinct, the last reliable sighting anywhere in the States being in the Denmark Wilderness in 2086. Rumours persist however, and only a very foolish traveler would discount their continued existence completely.