A member of the public has reported spotting what they described as “undoubtedly a big cat” in the Shropshire Hills.
Travelling through the Corvedale valley between Ludlow and Stanton Long around 2:15 PM on Saturday 11th April, Jack spotted a black animal he says could have been a panther.
Jack told Puma Watch: “Undoubtedly a big cat on the Corvedale between Ludlow and Stanton Long.
“[It was] Casual strolling down an open country track as we drove past. It was feline in its movement, had the signature “U” shaped tail and was approximately 6ft in length.
“Seen from less than 100 yards away and for five seconds with an uninterrupted view (as a car passenger).
“I reported this on the day to a big cat society group and have just found Puma Watch.”
Though we’re focused on North Wales, we appreciate reports from across the UK and particularly neighbouring counties, which can be submitted via this form on our website.
Last week, not too far from Shropshire, we shared reports of a big cat that was spotted three times in 24 hours, as it moved towards Oswestry from the Dee Valley.
First, it was inadvertently caught on camera near Cefn Mawr. Less than two hours later, an animal matching the description was then spotted jumping over a fence in Chirk McDonald’s car park, only around one mile away.
Another sighting of an animal matching the same description occurred a few miles down the A5 at Oswestry the next day.
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.
Photo © Fabian Musto (cc-by-sa/2.0)
I seen one run across the road in dawley Telford into bushes black panther long tail in way home from Morrisons at night