Original headline:
Gwithian 'Cat' Sighting Could Be Black Leopard
Reports of big cat-like creatures near Gwithian and further afield could be black leopards.
Sightings across the county and the rest of the Westcountry abound - and the latest are of large black cats in the West Cornwall area.
Reports began with a caller on a local radio programme who claimed to have recently seen a black cat-like creature around six feet in length crossing the A30 road near Roseworthy.
The call was followed by a second from John Carter of Camborne, who later said: "I saw a similar creature three or four weeks ago, but never said anything to anybody for fear of being ridiculed. My wife and I were driving down the road between Connor Downs and Gwithian when I spotted this black cat emerge from the hedge on one side of the road and run into a cemetery on the other side.
"By the time I had told my wife to look, it had gone, but I know what I saw. I was a photographic imager in the RAF, so my eyesight is pretty good."
Meanwhile, wildlife expert Trevor Beer says there is no reason to think the claims might be false.
"This is not unusual," he said. "Typical sightings match this description closely - a beast of about six foot in length and two feet off the ground, usually jet black in colour."
The cats seen, he says, may have been black leopards, which should be able to breed and survive in an environment like West Cornwall. "They undoubtedly breed, but there is probably a high mortality rate among the cubs. The increase in the number of sightings is not down to increased numbers, but to our increased awareness. It is simply that more people are willing to admit to seeing them."
