Driver Spots Big Cat In Irvine, Scotland
[Original headline: A Big Cat In Road]
An Irvine man driving home from work believes he spotted one of Scotland’s infamous big cats in the town last week. William McCarroll was passing by Perceton Row in his car last Tuesday morning when he saw what he thought was a puma lurking at the edge of the roadside. The startled driver stopped his car to take another look when the feline crossed the road in front of him. He told the Irvine Times: “I just thought it was a large dog at first but when I stopped the car to take a closer look I realised it was a big cat. It was black in colour and about the size of a big Labrador dog - I think it may have been a puma. It crossed the road in front of me and just kept on walking. I don’t know what it was doing in that area because it isn’t near to any woods. I know there has been quite a few sightings before out this way and a friend of mine also saw one recently. I wasn’t scared at the time but I thought it was important to let people know about it.”
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Kilmarnock man Mark Fraser, of Scottish Big Cats, has been investigating sightings for a number of years and feels there is no need for the Irvine public to be alarmed. He said: “This doesn’t sound like a puma because they arn’t black for starters. From the description, I think it may be the Scottish wildcat known as the Kellas cat. They have been known to be present in this area. I have had more than 40 sightings in Ayrshire this year alone. Kellas cats do roam from their territories and have no fear of vehicles for some strange reason so I’m not surprised to find out one was wandering across the road. They hide out in old caves and woods - generally places where humans would not venture into. We have been trying for some time to find out exactly where they have set up base but have had little success. We even had an overnight vigil in Galston recently but it remains a bit of a mystery. I wouldn’t say there is cause for a panic in Irvine and people shouldn’t regard the cats as a threat - despite the large number of sightings the number of actual attacks is very low.” Fellow Irvine motorists have previously claimed to have spotted ‘cat-like animals’ on the grass verge at the Dreghorn roundabout.
A FarShores credit and thanks to Mark Fraser
http://www.scottishbigcats.org/
The Scottish Big Cat Society
• Story originally published by:
Irvine Times / Scotland | Stuart MacDonald - Nov 8.02
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