Large cat ?

[tamborine]

Have seen a large cat twice now; its sandy colored & panther size ? It was sat upright then crouched with wagging tail when it eyes me, it slinked off thru brambles easily.

There were lots of wild rabbits in the area but now there are none visible. My dog freezes in fear with hackles up.....surely not a panther ?

[Ratty2E]

well someone's taking it seriously http://www.bigcatsinbritain.org

[tamborine]

Puma looks right, not the b.... shoes ! It's possibly near the river for a drink. Will search for droppings & footprints.

[DTCwordfan]

Carmalee, I know what my eyes saw and it wasn't anything that I had seen in the UK before...and there have been other recent sightings.

It amazes me that tghey don't go after it but I guess the issue is the distance they can roam. Having said that, the zoo specialist was heading down there after I reported it as, probably like tambo, I got him to within five to ten yards of where it went into the undergrowth. Too b quick to get my mobile out and snap a pic of it.

Tamborine - report it to the Safari park and ask for their cat specialist...they will have more interest than the poliz. The cats do not attack humans or large animals unless provoked as the UK woods have more than enough foodstuff to live on.....

[DTCwordfan]

didnt walk like a dog and a dog wouldnt have scarpered like a cat does - we have wild cats around here - little ones that is.......

[tamborine]

Our Safari Pk closed 20y ago. My alsation froze when normally she would be off chasing rabbits.

[carmalee]

Not doubting your or anyone else's sincerity in their belief of what they saw and when one in the trap I'll be the first to hold up my hand and say "I was once a sceptic" :-)

[Ratty2E]

I don't think anyone has ever caught a live one, but there are apparently reports of a few being shot or killed on the roads. My Mum and neice saw one a few years ago when out driving down a country road and neither is a fantacist or prone to hallucinations.

[lankeela]

A friend of mine has Maine C**ne Cats and they look like a Linx with tufts on their ears and much bigger than a regular moggy. She has a pale ginger one and if you saw him running across a field you would swear it was a big cat.