SIGHTING: ‘Puma’ swinging from trees at The Dingle in Llangefni

Multiple walkers spotted a “puma” hanging from trees while walking along the river through The Dingle at Llangefni, Anglesey.

The animal was described as “light grey, similar to a mountain lion” with a “large, swinging tale” and was seen to “pounce” on a bird.

Evan reported the encounter to Puma Watch on behalf of his grandparents, Rosemary and Elwyn. He told us this happened at around 2:15 PM on Saturday 3rd July and continued: “They went for a walk on the Dingle footpath in Llangefni.

“As they were walking along the trail, they spotted a large animal in the distance. As it stopped against a tree, they saw it was a greyish colour described to be similar to a mountain lion.

“They described it as being roughly the same size as a Labrador but with shorter legs, longer and with a tail about the same length as its body.

“As they stopped, mainly from fear and disbelief, a young couple walked along behind them. Rosemary then said to the young couple, “Can you see that in the distance?”

“To which the young girl replied, ‘Oh my god, that’s a big cat!’.

“They then witnessed the cat pounce for what they thought was a bird in the tree. The cat then appeared to be hanging from a lower branch by its claws.

“At this point, they could see the large tail swinging as it was hanging. The cat then let go, but pounced again, hanging from the tree for a second time.

“The cat then was seen to move off into the distance. They both said the cat didn’t seem to be very aggressive however this may be down to the fact my grandparents were around 50 metres away. They then couldn’t see the cat anymore and carried on with their walk.”

Evan added that his grandparents were concerned for the safety of other people in the area.

There have been previous sightings of big cats on the island of Anglesey. Around a year ago, a suspected puma was spotted near Cemlyn by a fisherman.

Another resident has reported a big cat has been turning their Rottweiler “into a big baby” for years while walking on the island.

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.

Llangefni Dingle Photo © Oliver Dixon (cc-by-sa/2.0)
Puma photo Luis Miguel Bugallo Sanchez (cc-by-sa/3.0)