Out on the Prowl with Scotland's Big Cats
Mark Fraser has dedicated his life to tracking down one of Scotland's elusive beasts - the mysterious big cats.
The country is on alert after a 5ft Puma-like creature was spotted in the grounds of Merchston Hospital in Johnston, Renfrewshire - worried police even scrambled the forces helicopter to try and track it down.
Every year there are hundreds of reported sightings of large predators stalking all over the country. And the beasts are getting closer and closer to Scotland's big towns.
FEROCIOUS
Some are simply hoaxes. Others are just fat domestic moggies, otters or badgers. But there are others that can't be so easily explained away. These ferocious big black beasts regularly attack livestock - killing sheep, deer and horses - have taken swipes at cars and even sunk their fangs into people.
In the last eight years Mark has logged more than 1,200 sightings in Scotland. The 38 year old dad of 4 from Ayr has travelled to every corner of Scotland interviewing witnesses, taking casts of paw-prints and analysing shaky video footage.
It has led to him setting up a web site, Mystery Cats Of Scotland, and also producing a monthly magazine detailing the latest sightings.
And its not just the Highlands where the big cats are seen. Hotspots include Ayrshire and Fife - the beasts have even been spotted roaming as close to Glasgow as Barrhead and Cumbernauld.
Although areas like Aberdeenshire have had reports of big cats for decades. Mark believes that the creatures are creeping closer and closer to more densely - populated areas.
He said:"There are more foxes living in the cities scavenging for food than live in the countryside now. I firmly believe the big cats are moving in too. There's an old railway line that runs about 20 miles into Dundonald in Ayrshire. There have been a huge number of sightings there."
"In March I interviewed a postman in Kilmarnock who spotted a large black cat while doing his rounds. He walked around a corner and startled the animal, which was only a few feet from him. It snarled and he ran in one direction and it went in the other."
What gives credence to the reports is that most of the descriptions are the same. Mark said:" The postman told me it was a black panther or leopard."
FANGS
"However because people don't know they usually report them as black pumas - but there really is no such thing. You very occasionally get a melanistic - or black - puma, but its extremely rare. Its either another cat or a new species altogether."
"The common report is of a cat with an extremely long tail, splash of white on its breast, a head with a squashed face and long fangs."
Mark reckons many people don't report sightings of big cats for fear of ridicule - which is why he set up his own web site to let folk put down what they have seen in writing.
He said: "Most of the sightings are from motorists who have caught a large cat in their headlamps running in front of them Sometimes they snarl at people. They are not shy or frightened and are very curious."
2A policeman in Aberdeenshire once told me how a big black cat walked around his squad car while he was parked in a lay-by, had a look in his window then leapt into the undergrowth."
Mum-of-two Doris Moore, 52, from Insch, Aberdeenshire, was attacked by a big cat in January - with the beast leaving clearly visible fang and claw marks on her leg.
Mark said:"I drove up to interview Doris. I believe she was bitten by a big cat, but I don't think she was attacked. If a big cat had wanted to seriously harm her it would have definitely left her with more injuries."
Mark has vowed to keep on hunting until he has conclusive proof of a big native cat living in Scotland.
He said:"Because a big cat has never been captured, it makes their existence almost mythical. It has become personal with me. I just want to see one. I've never seen a big cat in twenty years of looking.
"My wife Hannah has seen three, including one travelling on the bus from Ayr to Glasgow, but they have eluded me so far."
"I'm just after proof that there is something out there."
For more information or to contact Mark log on his website at
http://www.scottishbigcats.org/
or email him at
mark@scottishbigcats.org
A FarShores 'thanks' to Hannah Fraser for forwarding this story G-fs
• Story originally published by:
The Scottish Sun - July 05.02
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