Wild cat ‘big enough to pose a threat’

On Saturday last week (March 3) Jane Banting was walking with her dog down a footpath off the Heath Road that goes down the side of the old rectory at St Leonard’s Church.

She said: “I passed a small field on my left with a few sheep in and then came to a junction where I could turn left or go straight on.

“I went straight on, passing ends of back gardens on my left and another small field on my right. Ahead of me I initially saw what I thought was a very large dark brown tabby cat. As I got closer I realised that the animal was much bigger, in fact bigger than my dog (a collie cross).

“Thinking it was a dog I looked for the owner but then the animal turned its head towards me and I realised that it was a cat’s face with small pointed ears. It then turned through a gate into a small field and I saw its full profile.

“The gait, body shape and tail convinced me that this was, in fact, a large wild cat of some description. I reported the sighting to the police when I got home and searched on the internet.

“I couldn’t really find the animal I had seen until reading the paper just now. It appears that what I saw was a cougar. I had been misled because all the web images were of a light brown animal whereas the one I saw was dark brown and mottled in colour.

“Because I didn’t really believe what I was seeing I didn’t get my phone out in time to take a picture. Although I didn’t feel threatened at that time I was concerned that it was so near to houses in Heath and Reach and was big enough at approximately 30 inches high, to pose a threat to a child”.

Have you seen the big cat? Call our newsroom on 01582 798523 or email [email protected].

You can now see all the reported sightings on our Big Cat Map.