Locals Fear A Sheep Stripped to the Bone Was Killed by a ‘Big Cat’ after Dog Walkers Spot A ‘Panther’

As you know we take reports of any strange experience witnessed by ordinary people. Lately while the country has been an a lockdown the number of Alien Big Cat sightings have increased. They are being reported almost weekly all across the country. Ian Halling will be doing a follow up investigation and bring you some added information on tonights reports, which will air in a week or so's time. Ian himself is a witness to one of Britains Wild Cats. 

For over a 100 years now reports of Big Cats sometimes referred to as Alien Big Cats have come in to newspapers and Police stations all across the UK. All the while our govt chooses to deny they exist. Big cats such as Panthers and Puma are capable of walking dozens of miles a day, as they each need their own territory and they are capable of killing, climbing and hiding their prey in trees or in long grasses. In the 30's and 40's Large Cats were being reported out in the wildest places. Far away from any humans. The odd shepherd would make a report or a hill climber. They shied away from people and kept to their own areas. Back then I think they were sparse in number and had huge swathes of habitat to exist in.

In the 70' and 80's there was a change in the number of sightings, how often they were seen and the places they were seen in. Now the large Cats were down in the valleys and rural areas. Tourists, Hill Walkers and Hikers would see them and make the reports. Lone Crofts in Scotland seemed to have been replaced for Countryside and Woodlands. Farmers tending fields would see them. But these places were still very rural with many miles of habitat between them. The Skerray Beast, Felicity the Puma and the Beast of Bodmin were quite famous examples. 

In the 2000's things changed and not for the better. Cats were being reported by drivers on our roads. They were reported on the odd occasion to have attacked the human who they encountered. But even so the Cats kept their distance from us still. It was a rare set of circumstances that brought people into contact with them. One Policeman reported being struck at by a Labrador sized cat and a young boy was attacked in Wales. One chap from the West Moreland area was left with bruises and scratches after walking through woodland at night. 

Now I have noticed a very worrying pattern emerging, as the Cats have bred and acclimatised themselves to our Island, the reports are now made in urban areas. There are 22 reports of a Black Panther type Cat in my hometown alone. In some cases these Cats are caught on cctv by the homeowners. Due to lack of space and competition for food and habitat the Cats are forced closer and closer to our homes. Most of us are avid Bird feeders, we stock our gardens with all kinds of food for wildlife. That attracts in more than Birds, you will see Rats, Voles, Mice and all manner of scurrying critter who will take advantage of the free food on offer. What that means really is, there is a lot of visiting protein sources for the Cat to catch. You see your neighbours Cats stalk the garden boundary for this very reason.

In denying their existence and not managing the populations our Govt has put us in a position of danger. Walking the Dog is one of the most relaxing things we do. Now people walking the dog of an evening or on a weekend are coming into contact with these Top of the Food Chain Predators. In a number of these cases the Cats have no slunk away as usual. But stand the ground and in some cases stalk the person as they move through the area. I wanted to give you an example of just how close they are coming to our homes, family, pets and us. Gloucester is one area I picked at random and the cases mentioned below are all from that county.

Sheep Stripped to the Bone Was Killed by a ‘Big Cat’ after Dog Walkers Spot A ‘Panther’ 12/6/20 - Local Police fear a big Cat is terrorising a Cotswolds village after a Sheep carcass was found in unusual circumstances which saw it stripped to the bone. A stunned Dog walker spotted a "Panther" after the animal was found dead in the field.

Farmers are also worried for their livestock after the mutilated skeleton of a ewe was discovered on a footpath near South Cerney, Gloucestershire. Sheep farmer Francis Freeth, 57, had counted his flock of 110 Sheep the night before and he received a call the next morning from the horrified Dog walker. Images show the Sheep's head and not much more, apart from its spinal column and some ribs which are picked clean. It is understood to be the second ewe to be mauled to death in the past ten days, both ewes are from the same flock.

The Police have confirmed they are investigating multiple reports of a "black Panther" which has been seen by locals in the area. The Police said the sheep carcass was pulled over three 4ft tall fences and was stripped of its flesh away from its flock.

Ellie Haggart rang the local Police after she spotted a large feline prowling towards her as she walked her French Bulldog Oscar in the village. It is thought the Cat could be the "Beast of Broadwell", which has been spotted stalking Cotswolds villages for several years now and has been captured on film. Ellie said the beast came out "into full view of the footpath" and did not seem to be put off by her presence.

The 27-year-old added: “I didn’t know what it was at first but I knew it was pretty big, I wanted to assume it was an extremely large Dog. I soon realised there was no owner with it and then I could start to see certain defining characteristics of the animal that struck me as Cat like. Like the feline movement of the shoulders and the difference in the shape of its legs compared to that of a Dog. I don’t know if it saw Oscar and I, but it started prowling slowly in our direction. I was terrified.”

Gloucestershire Police's rural crime team are investigating whether the sighting could be linked to the carcass of Francis' dead sheep. Francis said "I checked my livestock on Friday and counted them all there but on the Saturday morning I received a phone call from someone who was out walking and had found one of my Sheep mutilated. It was disgusting, when I found it only its head was left but not much more apart from its spine and a few ribs, it had been completely stripped bare. I'm quite annoyed really but there's not much you can do if a beast like that is attacking your flock. I'm just hoping it won't get anymore, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did as it's a ready supply of food for it."

A Gloucestershire Police spokeswoman said: "On 4th June we had a call from a woman who thought she had seen a large black Cat near to Wildmoor Way, South Cerney. Officers appealed on social media with a photo of the Sheep carcass and asked if it was connected to the big Cat sightings. The wildlife crime officer added the Sheep was "Pulled over three stock fences which are 4ft in height. It was taken from its field and stripped some distance away".

Two further potential sightings have been reported. A wildlife crime officer has also been in contact with another farmer after a Sheep carcass with similar injuries was found in a field in Ashton Keynes."

One Newspaper stated A Spate of Big Cat Sightings Continue as 'Beast of Broadwell' leaves onlookers 'Flabbergasted' after being Spotted Prowling through the Cotswolds - The Fox Inn's landlord, Ed Simpson, caught sight of the beast which he then filmed from a first-floor window in the Cotswold village of Broadwell. It follows Police and the RSPCA confirming that pets have vanished in a Cornwall hamlet after being stalked by a 'Panther' like animal. 

Mr Simpson was 'flabbergasted' at the size of the beast, saying: 'We were upstairs and saw something out of the window and said 'look at that!' There was this big cat. It paraded across the field quite happily then it jumped over a wall and vanished. It was really huge, it could have been the size of a labrador"

 

In October 2019 local newspapers carried two reports of large 'puma-like' cats sighted in Burford, just 11 miles away. Bar manager Kerry Hogg, 56, first spotted the cat out of the first-floor window while she was was in the room talking with Mr Simpson and his wife. 'I was upstairs having a coffee and a chat and I looked out the window and saw what I thought was a black Labrador,' she said. 'I went to the window to look closer and I said 'My God look at this!' 'It was definitely a big cat - 100 per cent, I'd bet my life on it. There was no way it was a domestic Cat. It was huge. It was walking through the field and then in leapt up onto the wall and dissipated. I couldn't believe my eyes, it was massive.'

Ms Hogg agreed that the beast was the size of a Labrador but clearly moved like a cat.  She said: 'I won't be parking out the back of the pub on a late shift again... I don't want to go out there at night with that thing around.'

Dog Attacked by 'Panther'April 2019 - Police and the RSPCA have confirmed they attended the scene of the attack near Callington. Police investigators took a plaster cast of a paw print which they say the charity has confirmed as that of a big cat. James Stephenson tried to scare the big Cat off in his garden but was shocked to see it start running towards him. The big black Cat is said to be stalking a Cornish village where several pet Cats have disappeared and one Dog has been left bleeding from its injuries and with claw marks on its shoulder.

Police and the RSPCA have confirmed that they have attended the scene. Specialist forensics officers have taken casts of paw prints measuring almost five inches and said these have been confirmed by the animal charity to have been from a big Cat. A local farmer has also apparently discovered its 'den' on his land.

James Stephenson, whose Dog was attacked, said people needed to be aware because it may take a child next time and he has recounted his own harrowing experience with the animal. James, 23, said there had been talk of the beast in his village of Harrowbarrow for a few weeks now. He then spotted it and it attacked his Labrador Marley, two days before the terrifying moment he came face to face with it himself. James, who lives with his mother Tricia in the village near Callington, said he was in his garden with Marley and his collie puppy Maisy when the beast struck. "Over the last couple of weeks we have seen this large black Cat walking down the back wall of the field at the back of our garden," he said. "It's on a stone wall, often carrying something the size of a lamb. 

Whatever it's been carrying is about a foot off the ground so it's very big. We've not paid it much attention because they normally shy away from humans. We're not sure whether it's a Puma or a Panther but it's been confirmed that it's a big Cat. We're under the impression that it's a Puma. We went round to warn the neighbours to keep their Dogs in and safe. They think it's a Panther to. The Cat normally only comes out at night, I think to not blow their cover but this one is out any time of day because it has adapted to its surroundings. Marley is a rescue dog so he now has almost an acre of garden when, before, he lived in a confined space. He loves his garden. He walks around to make sure it's safe and secure every night. It's his routine to make sure him and his family are safe.

"Marley was walking the far end of the garden and I was about 20 feet from him when he was suddenly taken down to the floor as if his legs had given way from underneath him; like he was being pulled down. He's a very agile Dog and very careful. I thought he had tripped on something and hurt himself. I called him back and he was already beside me with his tail between his legs in fear. He was covered in blood. He had a big deep gash on his front left leg and one between his toes. On his left shoulder was a big black claw mark, as if a muddy claw had scraped down the side of him. He's still not interested in going out in the garden at night. He loves his garden and now can't bear it. The RSPCA said it had probably already caught something and was eating it in our garden and that's why it didn't take Marley; it was just protecting its food when it took him down."

He said that when his mum first saw it she called the police who advised her to contact the RSPCA as it wasn't a Police matter. But when the family contacted the RSPCA after Marley was attacked, officers from Devon and Cornwall Police arrived and confirmed "something has been here which should not be". James said they sent scenes of crime officers who took plaster casts of paw prints from the garden which were sent to experts for analysis. They have since confirmed that they were the tracks of a large Cat.

Then came a more frightening encounter with the animal in person in his own garden. James, an engineer, said: "For the past few nights we've noticed large footprints down the end of the garden. The animals don't want to go out. On Saturday night I went out to the garden with the Dogs. I have a big torch and we have had to resort to putting big floodlights up to scare it off. I saw two large green eyes reflecting in the torch light at the bottom of the garden. You're told to make yourself appear big and aggressive and scare it off. I shouted to it and was waving my arms around and it actually started to run towards me. That's very unusual for a big Cat so it's obviously adapting to its environment.

"They say you should never turn away or turn your back on a large Cat and should never approach it. I was luckily close enough to the door to get back inside when it was coming at me and then I didn't see it again. The Dogs were still being strange. It's not afraid of humans like they normally are. There was a fair distance between us and it should have turned and ran away but it didn't. It was very scary. We have automatic lights on the front of the house and then I noticed them go on. The Dogs were still unsettled."

Now he is appealing for locals to keep their pets and children safe and see if they have any CCTV footage of the animal. He said: "We were told by the police that to take it any further we need to have it on video and a few other reports. It's a danger to children. It will take a Dog. So far I've heard about four or five cats in Harrowbarrow that have gone in the past week. One neighbour said there used to be a large amount of deer in the field and there hasn't been any for four or five months. My mum's concerned for the dogs' safety. One of us used to take them out on our own and let them run around. It's got to the point where we have to take both on leads with at least two people at a time. It's a great concern. None of us are resting properly at night"

He added that a local farmer has found a pile of wood chippings and logs and other items which indicates the site where the animal has set up a nest or den in an area of undisturbed woodland. James added: "I have made contact with several cat sanctuaries and zoos to see if any of them would be interested in taking it to one of the conservation sites where the beautiful animal can be rehabilitated into a safe environment where it can be cared for correctly in an appropriate fashion." The places he has contacted told him they did not have the space or resources to take the animal on. 

A police spokesperson said: "Police have received a single report of a big cat sighting in the Callington area. We were called on the morning of Friday 29 March by a resident of a property in near Harrowbarrow who claimed that panther had been in their garden and attacked their dog the night prior, and later seen with another animal in its mouth. An officer attended the property and located the footprints in the garden. We called the RSPCA for advice and took a cast of the print which they confirmed was the pad of a large cat. Over the years, there have been a number of similar reports across Devon and Cornwall.  There is no evidence that such animals represent a danger to humans.  It is highly likely that they would avoid human contact and only represent a danger if trapped.  If any animal is sighted it should not be approached."

A Dog Walker Sees a Bounding Big Cat in a Gloucestersh Field. 7th Nov 2020. - The witnesses were out walking their Dog when they spotted the Large Cat. The two dog walkers are convinced they saw a big Cat leaping across the edge of a field in Gloucestershire. The pair were taking their Labrador through the fields near Cirencester when they saw the “massive” creature at around 2.30pm last Saturday, November 7. It was a clear, mild, seemingly ordinary day.

They could not quite believe what they were seeing for a moment, but are now quite sure they had witnessed a large Cat in the Chesterton area of the market town.

Nicky from Cirencester said: “I take my young Labrador there for a walk most days. “I only caught a glimpse of the animal, but it was not just me that saw it. As my lab is small and young, I was very aware of other Dogs that may be around as she could just go and bound up to them. There is no doubt about it. What we saw was a Cat, a big Cat. It was massive. It was running, yet not like a domestic cat. To start with you could have thought it was a Dog it was that big but it was not. The animal had a small head, and a different shaped back and a long tail.”

There have been a number of reports of a strange Cat recently which have been spotted by Dog Walkers. In September ‘A Panther’was seen at Gloucestershire beauty spot and a strange hand sized print was also photographed by a local resident. In November of 2018 Gwendoline Hewett was looking after two Dogs for a friend who lives in Bourton-on-the-Water when she saw the beast. The sighting took place towards the end of 2018 but the revelation comes after an increase in big cat sightings since lockdown.

Since lockdown measures were eased other people have started to come forward telling of their experiences seeing large Cats in the Gloucestershire countryside. Ms Hewett, 62, from London, said: “When I was babysitting two Dogs, I was staying in Bourton-on-the-Water. While I was staying there at the end of November 2018, I thought I saw a big black Panther sized Cat.

“I used to stay out all day with the dogs walking to the villages, or out in the fields and footpaths off Cemetery Lane, and the places of interest near the house. There are lots of footpaths and fields and sometimes you could feel that you were the only person in the world because as you walk you never saw anyone else out there. One day I had been walking for hours when I looked up and saw something that was the size of a very large black Labrador.”

On one weekday walk, she saw what at the first instance, she thought was a large black Dog, as Gwendoline looked above the hedge top to see if there was a Dog owner around but could not see anyone. The realisation and fear grabbed her and she froze for a few moments. She said: “I only saw its back legs and tail as it disappeared behind a hedge, “It was hugging the hedge row and must have crossed a small bit of field between a wooded area and the hedgerow, so it would not have been exposed for long. “I looked up just in time to see it. It was no more than 100 yards away, but still too close for comfort. I noticed the back legs which were thick set and the tail. That is what alerted me and instilled fear in me.

“The tail was long and curled at the end like that of a leopard but black. I scanned the top of the hedgerow for the owner of this black creature, hoping to see a head belonging to the owner of a black Labrador bobbing along but there was nobody to be seen.” When she collected her thoughts, Ms Hewett quickly and quietly turned back the way she came.

Ms Hewett said: “My fear’s primal instinct cut in. I turned and walked back in the direction I had come from, away from the creature which I had suspicion was a black panther. I told my daughter but not the people that I dog sat for as I thought they would think I was a crackpot. Besides I never saw it's head only it's tail and hind legs but my instincts told me to get out of there quietly but with a swift walk, because if it was what I feared, I did not want it to pick up my scent or that of the dogs. I am convinced to this day that it was a black panther.”