A member of the public has contacted Puma Watch after being scared off Chester Meadows by a ‘really deep growl’ coming from dense undergrowth, believing it could have been the big cat spotted there recently, shown above.
Around 8am on the morning of Thursday 14th January, Imogen was taking a new puppy on its second walk when they sat on a bench. Both her and the puppy were startled by a deep growl from behind them.
Imogen told us: “This sounds really crazy, but I was walking my dogs and our puppy wanted to be picked up as was her second walk. I had a blanket around me as a sling as she’s heavy. We sat down on a bench in front of dense trees and I tried to put her in the sling.
“We were alone and heard a really deep growl from behind us. The puppy and I both turned around immediately.”
They then stood up and quickly left the area, while turning around to check nothing had emerged from the trees. Imogen said her first thought was it could be someone playing a prank: “but no one was around and it’s so dense in that area.”
She continued: “Recently saw the news article of a potential puma sighting and don’t want to be dramatic or go over the top but this info might help.”
Storm Christoph flooded Chester Meadows around a week after this encounter. No big cat sightings have been reported in the area since, though four horses were saved in a dramatic rescue with the assistance of a Kings School pupil.
The suspected big cat was caught on camera by an Uber Eats / McDonalds delivery driver back in December. Richard told us: “I was out on my bike coming back into town after delivering someone’s McDonald’s when I spotted an enormous big cat across the river on the meadows. I pulled over to take a picture and tried to shout to a dog walker nearby but they couldn’t hear me.
“It was prowling along the edge of the long grass then disappeared into the undergrowth. It was absolutely massive though, like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
A few days after this sighting, a big cat was spotted on Ince Marshes near Ellesmere Port, and we’ve since had another report in the Chester area which we’re currently following up.
NOTE: Please only place these on your own property