Author Reveals her Encounter with a Mystery Falmouth Creature
By James Toseland
A third person has come forward with a sighting of the mysterious
creature around Falmouth.
Sheila Bird, a local historian and author, spotted a strange cat-like
animal in a tree in the swampy area round the back of Swanpool in
2006, a similar area to where Falmouth man Sam Bradbury saw the
creature last month, but did not go to the local press.
After seeing Mr Bradbury's sketch and then hearing the news of a
sighting by another woman, Rita Shelton, on Pendennis headland, Mrs
Bird referred to her diary entry from the misty morning on December
27, 2006, when she encountered the creature in the trees above the pool.
She said: "It was about 10.15am and I was walking across the cliff
path from Gyllyngvase to Swanpool and around the pool on my way to a
physio appointment when I noticed a large black form up in the branches.
"I looked closer to see a large cat-like animal with its ears pointing up.
"It was high up in the trees so in order for the creature to get up in
the branches it must have been quite agile.
"It was curled in a cat's cradle position and looked a bit like an
enormous Kuala bear with a long bushy tail. It had long black hair
with a brownish tinge."
Mrs Bird, who has written many books about the paranormal around
Cornwall, went on to say that she was very intrigued because, like
most people, she does not associate cats with a love of water.
They stared at each other for about 50 minutes as the mist cleared and
the creature kept almost completely still, but for the odd head movement.
She returned to the spot the next day with her camera only to see the
creature had gone.
"I thought it was a great privilege to see an animal like this so
clearly," she said.
Mrs Bird added that now three people have come forward with sightings,
she hopes more people would appreciate the mystery of nature.
Falmouth Packet: 25/2/09
