Increase In Big Cat Visits Give Us Paws For Concern
By David Owen
Black coat, long tail, a squat muscular body - the description is familiar.
Dennis Johnstone watched the animal crossing a field in the Christmas snow.
It was the fourth time he had seen it outside his smallholding near Insch.
On another occasion, it stood on a wall just feet away.
He said: "It made a rumbling sound and turned away very casually.
"I was a bit on the sceptical side before I saw it, but it was definitely a big cat.
"You speak to people who are cagey about it but then admit to seeing it themselves.
"I know about 10 people who have seen it, including a game keeper."
They aren't alone.
Sightings of big cats have hit an all-time high in the North-east.
The British Big Cats Society (BBCS) received 225 reports from Scotland with 92 coming from Grampian.
The organisation reckons there could be up to 70 big cats prowling the British countryside.
Spokesman Danny Bamping said: "Our evidence is certainly gaining strength and improving. I think more people are likely to come forward now than in the past.
"But only one in 10 want it known what they have seen for fear of being ridiculed."
The BBCS believes the true number of sightings could be four times higher and is trying to encourage witnesses to come forward.
Danny said: "I had an encounter 11 years ago - with a black panther in Kent - which was a catalyst for my interest."
There have been sightings across the North-east, from Dyce to St Fergus, Braemar to Keith.
Those who believe in big cats claim the North-east has ideal habitat - plenty of tree cover and food in the shape of rabbits, deer and even livestock.
But opinions vary about what people are seeing.
Police tend to be dismissive and suggest people have misjudged the size of a domestic animal at a distance or in poor light.
As for savaged livestock, sceptics blame dogs. Big cats, they point out, kill cleanly by suffocating their prey.
One possibility is that people are seeing a so-called Kellas cat, a cross between a domestic cat and a wildcat.
But these are much smaller than the four-foot long animal Dennis Johnstone encountered.
A more outlandish suggestion is that the big cat is a native but as yet unrecognised species.
Some people believe the animals are descendants of big cats released from homes in the 70s when the law changed to ban people keeping exotic pets, like leopards.
Mr Bamping said: "I think that over the last three to four years we have started to realise that not everyone who reports a sighting is actually seeing a big cat - but also to understand the reality of the situation."
The British Big Cats Society claims 17 exotic cats have been trapped, shot or run over in the last 20 years.
And if that sounds crazy, consider that a puma was caught in a box trap by a farmer near Inverness in 1980.
Aberdeen Press & Journal: 10th January 2005
Do you have any information on the above news item. Were you the person involved, or are you aware of any more sightings in this area. We would appreciate any information that you could give us.
