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Cop Stopped in his Tracks by a Big Cat

Mail on Sunday: 29th July 2009

Mail on Sunday
   
DRAMATIC pictures have been captured of a panther-sized big cat prowling close to Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde.
Ministry of Defence policeman Chris Swallow filmed the footage after spotting the black feline crossing a railway line in Helensburgh, Argyll.
The dog handler, who is based in Faslane, believed he was looking at a Labrador, but he grabbed his mobile phone for a picture after realising that it was moving in a cat-like manner.
Big cats have been spotted in the area before, with several reports in 2004 of a large tan-coloured creature dubbed the ‘Coulport Cougar’ prowling the woods around Loch Long.
The latest sighting comes just over a week after a horse was found mauled near a holiday park in Ayrshire. Vets believe its injuries could have been caused by a puma.
PC Swallow said : “The animal wasn’t moving the way I expected a dog to. I realised that what I was seeing was a big cat. I ran to my car to grab my mobile phone for a picture.
I’ve heard stories about creatures like this moving about the countryside but never really believed them before.” John Belshaw, the naval base’s pest control officer, said he had previously been contacted by police about big cat sightings.
He said: “I do not believe it is a domestic cat or a dog. At one point, it seems to walk on the railway line, and a dog wouldn’t have the balance to do this. You can tell from the size of the track that it is much larger than a house cat.”
The naval base animal is the latest in a line of reports of big cats across the UK. Hotspots for sightings include Aberdeenshire, the Borders, Fife, Dumfries and Galloway and Renfrewshire.
Their existence has been accredited to a range of sources, from escaped zoo and circus animals to a mass release in the Seventies after the enforcement of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act.
Shaun Stevens, a researcher for Big Cats In Britain, said there were around 30 reported sightings of big cats in the Argyll area every year.
He said: “Knowing that the width of the rail tracks in Chris’s video is four feet eight and a half inches, the animal photographed by him is clearly in excess of four feet.
“This could be one of the best pieces of footage of a big cat in the UK.”
Is it a pooch? Is it a pet?
No, it's a big cat, according to a policeman who took this footage of a mysterious black creature.
Military policeman Chris Swallow initially thought he was looking at a labrador crossing railway tracks.
But on closer inspection he said he became convinced he had seen one of the mysterious big cats which reportedly roam the UK.
'The animal wasn't moving the way I expected a dog to. It was then I realised that what I was seeing was a big cat,' Pc Swallow said, adding that he was 'stunned' by what he saw.
'I ran to my car to grab my mobile phone for a picture. I stood on the nearby rail bridge and got a still photo and a couple of minutes of footage of the animal moving up the railway line.
'It was remarkable. I've heard stories about creatures like this moving about the countryside but never really believed them before. Looking back at the video I don't think there's any doubt that it's a big cat.'
Shaun Stevens, a researcher for Big Cats In Britain, a group which investigates animals roaming the British countryside, said the animal visible in Pc Swallow's photographs is 'certainly not a domestic cat'.
The group hears of about 30 reported sightings of such animals in the area every year.
'I have a working theory that some of these cats may be a hybrid species or possibly a new species of cat,' he said.
'Knowing that the width of the rail tracks in Chris's video is four feet, eight and a half inches, the animal photographed by him is clearly in excess of four feet.
'Initial first impressions are very exciting, as I think this could be one of the best pieces of footage of a big cat in the UK.'
Pc Swallow, a dog handler, spotted the creature in Helensburgh in the Clyde, Scotland.
Mr Steven added that Argyle 'appears to be a favourite haunt' of big cats.
Big cats have been seen in the area before, with several reports of a large tan-coloured creature - the 'Coulport Cougar' - in the woods and hills of Loch Long in Portincaple, Whistlefield, in 2004.
John Belshaw, HM Naval Base Clyde's pest control officer, said he was contacted by police in 2007 about the sightings.
'They asked me what I thought about the stories of big cats in the area and then told me they had seen one cross the road in front of them during the night,' he said.
'I think they were quite shaken by the whole experience and wanted reassurance.
'I have had a look at Chris's footage and have to say that I do not believe it is a domestic cat or a dog.
'At one point in the video it seems to walk on the railway line and a dog simply wouldn't have had the balance to do this.
'You can tell from the size of the track that it is much larger than a house cat.'
The animal is just the latest in a long line of sightings of big cats in the UK - Cath Palug reportedly roamed Anglesey in the Middle Ages and sightings of the Beast of Bodmin have been regularly reported since the early 1990s.
Most wild cat sightings have been assumed to be panthers, with a handful of reports assumed to be the lynx - a big cat once native in this country.
Their existence in the wild has been accredited to a range of sources, from escaped zoo and circus animals to a mass release

Do you have any information on the above reports. 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.

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