Big Cat Roundup 7

Reports of sightings received by BCIB over the last week

England

Devon
Ipplepen – a large black cat has been sighted in this area. (Phone report)

Dorset
Henstridge – a local woman saw and photographed a large black cat, ‘identical in size to a two year old leopard’, in a field behind her house.
Read more at the Western Gazette

Gloucestershire
Nailsworth area – at a talk by two BCIB members, witnesses reported several instances of sightings of big cats, both panther type and puma type. (Verbal report)

Forest of Dean, Parkend – ‘about three months ago’ a motorist braked to avoid a deer running across the road in front of her car. As she braked she saw a large animal with a scruffy mane pursuing the deer. (Verbal report)

Sudeley Estate – a lynx was sighted here 3 months ago (Verbal report).

Surrey
Dorking/Reigate area – a sighting from eight years ago, by a veterinary surgeon driving at night along a country lane. Just after rounding a corner, he saw an Alsatian-sized dark-coloured cat emerge from the hedge and cross the road in front of him. (Email report)

Great Bookham – the same witness’s ex-wife and daughter were walking in the area 2 years ago and while passing an area of dense undergrowth heard a very loud purring noise which was far too loud to be made by an ordinary domestic cat. They hurried away as quickly as possible. (Email report)

Yorkshire
East Heslerton – at dusk on Sunday 14th October, a local farmer found four five-inch wide paw-prints in his crop of winter barley. The photograph in the news report shows the large prints.
Read more at the Gazette & Herald


Scotland

Ayrshire
Galston area – on 25th September at 11.30 pm, a man out shooting with his dog happened upon a large black leopard-like cat at close quarters (25 yards), near enough to be able to notice its tongue and bottom fangs in its half-open mouth. After cat and man had stared at each other for some 45 seconds, the man backed off, carefully, in considerable fear. Once he judged he was at a safe distance, he turned and ran. (Phone report)

Caithness – on 8th May this year a farmer found one of his lambs with its head ripped off, and a cut on its body that was clean, almost ‘surgical’. He believes the damage was done by an animal he was not familiar with.

Fife
Nine sightings of an unusually large black cat have been reported to Fife police since July. The most recent is the sighting included in last week’s Roundup, outside Homebase in Glenrothes. Sightings in the area go back at least two years, with most being during the harvest period.
Read more at The Courier

Renfrewshire
Kilbarchan-Howwood area – the farmer who lost sheep last week (see Roundup 6) has lost another. A jet-black cat, 5ft long, 2 and a half feet high, with a 4ft tail was last seen in the area a few days ago. (Verbal report)

Wales

Carmarthenshire
Nantgaredig - at 1pm on 11th October, a motorist had stopped his car on the B4300, when he noticed an unusually large cat, mid-brown with black face, ears, and longish black tail, on the bank by the side of the road. It looked at him for 20 seconds, then retreated through nearby rushes and across a field. (BCIB sightings form)

CatStats at a glance
Panther type (black) - 15
Puma type (brown) - 3
Lynx type - 1
Prints - 1
Attacks - 2
Sounds - 1