Big cat on the prowl

A big cat has once again been spotted prowling the countryside near Bridgnorth. Heather McBreem was travelling on the Severn Valley Railway on Saturday, from Arley to Bridgnorth, when she spotted what looked like a black panther.

“It was just strolling along and had a long, wafting tail,” she said. “It definitely wasn’t a domestic cat ¬ it was bigger than an Alsatian.”

Heather, who travels to Bridgnorth to kayak along the river and go for country walks, said: “We believe we saw the cat near Hampton Loade around 4.30pm. At first I didn’t really think that much of it, but there were four of us who saw it.

“We thought it may have been a dog, but it was just the way it was strolling along the field - cool as a cat really. We would like to know if any other people saw it.”

Heather is not the only person to have spotted a big cat in the Bridgnorth area. Chris Summers, who works at Shatterford Lakes, said she saw a big cat around 14 months ago, which was at least the size of a sheep.

“I presume it was stalking something in the field - it was a magnificent sight,” she said. “What got me was the size of the animal’s tail. It was almost the length of the cat’s body, which shows it wasn’t a domestic cat.

“I think it was just passing through as there is a lot of tree cover about. They must have their normal food too because we have free range chickens and they’ve never been eaten.

“My first reaction was that it escaped from the safari park, but they only have lions and tigers there. They seem to keep a low profile and I hope they can be allowed to go about their business. I would love to see one again.”

Highley resident Liz Roseblade, who has seen the cat several times in recent years, said it sounded like it had extended its territory, or that there was more than one big cat.

“There really is no mistaking it when you see it. It’s a real predator and you certainly feel scared,” she said. “I was with my horse once when I saw it, in fact she alerted me to it. She was terrified and recognised at once this was no ordinary cat.”

Severn Valley Railway general manager John Leach said he hadn’t had any other reports about Saturday’s sighting, but he had been told of a sighting in Stourport.

“We definitely would not dismiss it,” he said. “There are some wild boar in the area, which are also black, but I suppose it depends on how good a look a person gets. I think the whole point about it is nobody can prove it one way or the other.”

It is believed big cats were released into the wild after the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act was introduced, which made it more difficult and expensive to keep such animals.

http://www.bridgnorthjournal.com/2009/05/01/big-cat-on-the-prowl/