After we shared two reports of big cats spotted in Heswall, we’ve received four more reports of sightings nearby on the Wirral.
Last week, we posted a report of a large black cat seen limping down Kestrel Road at 2:30 am on 15th August, followed by a report of an animal matching the same description being spotted on Whitfield Common on 1st September.
Since then, we’ve been told about sightings near Spital, Neston and Upton, along with another in Heswall.
Neston
Between Raby and Neston on Upper Raby Road, less than two miles across fields from Heswall’s Kestrel Close sighting, Andy spotted the “biggest black cat” they’d ever seen around 1:30 PM on Saturday 4th September.
He told us: “It literally was in the blink of an eye what I saw. I couldn’t stop or reverse but it was the biggest black cat I have ever seen, the size of a Doberman.
“On the way home we stopped at the opening to the field to further look or see if there was something that could of given the appearance of an illusion or to what may have looked like this, there was nothing visible.
“Really wish I had reversed and looked at what it was but glad now I didn’t because I had my dog in the car with us.”
Upton
At around 8:45 AM on Friday 3rd September, an animal matching the same description was spotted dashing across the slip roads from Moreton Road to the Upton Bypass roundabout.
The witness said: “It ran across the road from Overchurch Park Woodlands.
“I said to my mum who was driving if she saw that big black cat cross the road and she said no but there’s been sightings of a puma around the area and that I should report it.”
HESWALL
One day earlier at around 8 AM on Thursday 2nd September in Heswall, Adam spotted a large black animal he believes was a puma while on his way to Wylde Coffee on the high street.
He told us: “I was walking for my morning coffee, and in the main road, a large German Shepard size cat was running down the road.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes! Anyway, the coffee was delicious.”
SPITAL
We also received a report this week of a sighting back on March 31st 2021.
At around 6:30 PM, Gillian spotted a brown or tawny animal she believes could have been a puma running across Poulton Road, near Vineyard Farm.
She told us: “It was dusk and I was driving along Poulton Road, Spital.
“Just before I got to Vineyard Farm a very large tawny coloured type of cat ran across the road in front of me and jumped through a hedge onto farmland.
“It was the size of a medium to large dog.
“I have never seen a domestic cat that large, the animal moved quite differently to a normal cat and it had more muscle tone.
“It surprised me and I was not quite sure what it was, I did not slow down to investigate.”
Previously reported sightings
Jon Devoy was walking his dog at around 9:30 PM on Monday 1st September when he spotted the “black, large cat” near the trees. After stopping to get a better look, he kept cool and calmly left the area while keeping the animal in his sights.
Jon told Puma Watch: “Was walking the dog, didn’t suspect anything was up as the dog was acting as she usually does.
“I saw a large black silhouette in the tree line (perhaps the size of a fairly big dog). I stopped to get a better look and could see, fairly clearly, that it was a large cat.
“I know you’re meant to keep your cool in these situations so I slowly walked away whilst keeping my eye on it and it followed in the treeline.
“My dog was oblivious to the whole thing, fortunately, I was near the exit and so exited the park area and made it home safely.
“The experience was very frightening and I’ll be walking my dog in very residential areas from now on.
“I thought I was going mad as I didn’t think the UK had big cats but I googled and found this site which has vindicated me.”
Two weeks earlier, Terry spotted what he believes was a ‘puma’ limping down Kestrel Road at 2:30 AM on Sunday 15th August.
At the time, he told Puma Watch: “I heard a cry like cats fighting.
“I saw a large cat about the size of a German shepherd dog walking down the road.
“It was limping on the rear left leg.”
Previous sightings of big cats on the Wirral include Willaston, Prenton, Bidston Hill and Burton Woods.
The most recent of those occured at around 7:15 AM on Wednesday 21st June 2021. Peter was using the Wirral Way cycle path when he spotted an all-black cat, the size of a German Shepherd, run down the embankment on his approach to the Damhead Lane bridge.
He told Puma Watch: “Out on morning cycle from Willaston to Neston direction.
“Approached Damhead Lane bridge when a very large cat ran down the bank, at which point I veered off to the right and the cat shot back up the bank and away.
“The cat was about the same size as a German shepherd dog, all black and without doubt, it was a cat.
“Extremely frightened and couldn’t believe it. A little scared to go back out in the morning.”
Big cats have also been spotted in Ellesmere Port’s Whitby Park and behind the nearby Costco store this year. A few miles away, Chester has become a big cat hotspot in its own right. This includes one occasion where an animal was caught on camera on Chester Meadows by a delivery driver.
Big cats such as pumas are solitary with a hunting range of dozens of miles. They’re mostly spotted in Snowdonia and the Clwydian hills but reports of sightings in urban locations some distance from these areas are becoming more frequent.
As seen with Llandundo’s now-famous goats, who have taken to roaming the town’s deserted streets during the coronavirus lockdowns, it’s likely that the reduced levels of human activity over the last year is encouraging big cats to roam further from the hills into more populated areas.
Earlier this year, the Welsh Government responded to the recent spate of sightings and confirmed the steps they take to investigate any reported to them, including taking casts of paw prints.
When big cats were banned as pets in the 1970s, it was legal to release them into the countryside to avoid expensive rehoming costs. Owners from across the UK travelled to areas like Wales to release their cats in the remote environment, where small but significant populations have thrived ever since.
