'Closest sighting yet' of big cat in Pembrokeshire

[Neil]

Cortesy of BBC online 28 January 2011

How funny - we were only all talking about this yesterday on DW!


A former police officer has described his close encounter with what he believes is a puma or panther roaming wild in Pembrokeshire.

Michael Disney said the animal passed just in front of his car near the village of Treffgarne on Wednesday.

He said he was "100% certain" it was a "puma or panther-like animal."

The council called it "the closest anyone has been to a big cat" and "further proof" that they are roaming the county.

The police and the Welsh Assembly Government's Big Cat Sighting Unit have been informed.

Mr Disney, who now works for Pembrokeshire's public protection division, said the encounter took place in broad daylight.

It had a large cat-like head, muscular build and was approximately three feet tall”
 
 In a statement that has been passed to police he said he was travelling about 10 - 15 mph on a single-track lane when the animal crossed 5m in front of his car.

"I immediately stopped my vehicle and stared at this animal," he said.

"It had a large cat-like head, muscular build and was approximately three feet tall.

"It was bigger and more muscular than a German Shepherd dog. The coat was smooth and looked like it had brown spots on it.

"I had a clear, unobstructed view of the animal and the visibility was excellent.

"The animal was in my view for fully five to six seconds, the time it took to cover the width of the road and then disappear into the undergrowth at the side
 
"I am 100% certain that this was a puma or panther-like animal and was definitely not a dog, cat or any other domestic animal.

"It was not something I had seen before other than in a zoo."

While the public should not be alarmed... we would urge anyone who does see what they think might be a big cat not to approach the animal, and to stay a safe distance away”

 
Dyfed-Powys Police
 Mr Disney said his initial concern was for the safety of the public so he drove to a nearby farm and spoke to the owner who said she had seen a large puma-like animal near her farm a few weeks earlier.

Chief Insp Steve Matchett of Dyfed-Powys Police said: "We are aware of a possible big cat sighting in the Treffgarne area of north Pembrokeshire.

"While the public should not be alarmed by this latest possible sighting, we would urge anyone who does see what they think might be a big cat not to approach the animal, and to stay a safe distance away from it."

It is the latest in a line of big cat sightings in Pembrokeshire.

The last publicised incident was in November when the carcass of a sheep was reported to bear the hallmarks of a big cat kill.

Pembrokeshire council's head of public protection, Mark Elliott, said the latest sighting was the "most definitive yet."

"We believe this is the closest anyone has been to a big cat in the wild and is further proof that there is a least one large animal roaming free in Pembrokeshire" he added.

[nfl]

ive seen ,,the big cat,, twice now ,the last time it was a lovely day and i decided to tect all day ,i just started when i saw this cat[same descrption of other sightings]coming towards me  ,so that was it, iwent straight home ,,,my day of tectin turned into half hour session

[Val Beechey]

Clock his name  'DISNEY'

Jocking aside, most locals are aware of this animal and many have seen it, or in my case heard it.
If I hadn't had Charlie horse with me and seen his reaction I might have thought I'd imagined it. But there aint no denying the look of terror in a horses eyes.
I'm used to him seeing dragons in the hedge but that was something very different. Hope he (the cat) doesn't get short of sheep.

Val

[Dodger]

Was an incident in Scotland in the eighties when a guy detecting in Roslin Glen (near the famous Roslin Chapel) turned round and there was a big cat facing him. It walked off after a minute. He reported it to the local police as tawny in colour with some darker speckles around its leg. He kept referring to it as she. When the policeman enquired why he called it "she" he was told because it was pregnant!

Saw one myself at night back in the eighties. Black and sleek. Lovely animal althougth I was glad I was at a distance!

[jondav]

If you go to www.paranormal.uk.com there are literally hundreds of cases of sightings of big cats,mostly modern ones ,what I find strange is that no dead ones are ever found ,apart from a few which turn out to be scottish wild cats,the evidence of the exsistance of these creatures is now overwhelming,so where are their bodies and bones,presumeably if they are solid living creatures,some trace would be left.they seem to have taken over from the black dogs that used to seen in britain,black shuck et al.

[handyman [Alan}]

i've never seen a giant pussy









cat


LOL 

[bymatt666 (byron)]

about 18 years ago i saw a lynx ( or bobcat ) on the A40 at criegau not far from ross-on-wye....it was around 5.30am and i was on my way to silverstone...it crossed the road in front of us ....short tail,tufts from it's ears....beautiful animal.......byron

[Chef Geoff]

i've never seen a giant pussy

Yes you have Alan, most are now sporting light machines and complaining about "how heavy " the explorers are 

[dances with badgers]

its not just me then,good that my head was going lol.mine was black and very fast

[dances with badgers]

talking of disney i was once in disneyland and saw a 5ft mouse

[dances with badgers]

you would be surprised at how many people i have spoken too about the one i saw just say oh i saw one a while ago or have'nt seen one for a while now ,there must be loads of them about.