(Original Headline: BIG CAT SIGHTING IN WEST )
A delivery driver has described the frightening moment when he came face to face with what he believes to have been a puma.
Cedric Munslow was heading along a quiet country road to his first customer of the day when he spotted the beast at about 7am yesterday.
Mr Munslow said that as he was driving along the lane at Dunchideock, west of Exeter, suddenly the large black cat walked straight across his path, and he slammed on the brakes, stopping just five yards from the animal.
He said: "It was huge, much bigger than your average pet cat - about five feet long and three feet high. The thing was so big, it managed to cross the road in just three leaps.
"It went up the bank on the other side of the road, turned round and looked straight at me, and then disappeared into the gorse.
"I was not scared because I was in my van, but there was no way I was going to get out, not likely. It was no ordinary cat, it was big. I would not want to get a blow-out down there, that would be too scary, now I know that thing is about."
Later that day, the puma was spotted by a second witness, just two miles away at Kennford. A caller rang Gemini Radio to say he had seen the big cat.
Mr Munslow, 58, the former commercial manager of Torquay United, said he had heard stories of other similar sightings in Devon.
He said: "I have always thought there must be some truth in it. Now I have seen this with my own eyes, I am in no doubt, there really are big cats running wild in Devon. It might have been dark and I might not have been able to make out its eyes or teeth, but I was not seeing things, this was a cat."
Danny Bamping, from Plymouth, speaking for the voluntary organisation, the British Big Cats Society (BBCS) confirmed that the Westcountry was "somewhat of a hotspot for big cats" because of the number of wild animals they could prey on and the large expanse of countryside.
He explained: "Everyone tends to point to the 1976 Dangerous and Wild Animals Act that required people to register their exotic animals at the time. A lot of people released the cats into the wild because they had to apply for expensive licences and go through a big application process and they could not be bothered. Of course the government did not anticipate this when they changed the law.
"Big cats like pumas are very robust creatures and can adapt to pretty much any environment, so I have no doubt that Cedric Munslow did see a big cat of some description.
"Also there have been other sightings at that location. The Westcountry provides the perfect cover for large wild cats and there is lots of food for them."
Mr Bamping said big cats such as pumas moved very quickly and so it was entirely feasible that the same cat spotted by Mr Munslow was the animal seen in Kennford, near Exeter, the same morning.
Under British law, anyone who thinks they have seen a big cat in the wild, like a puma or leopard, is required to report it to the police.
Jo Barr, RSPCA spokesman said: "There are a lot of apparent sightings of big cats in the area just like this one. But most of them are unsubstantiated.
"However people can keep big cats if they have the appropriate licence and sometimes these have escaped. I suspect most sightings are unlikely. I would urge anyone who does think they have seen a big cat to report it immediately to the police."
According to the BBCS, in the 15 months to March this year, there were 2,052 big cat sightings nationally, of which 100 were in Devon, 96 in Cornwall and 69 in Somerset.
Among the species apparently seen were puma, lynx and even leopards, which the society said had all been found in the UK since 1980.
Devon and Cornwall police spokesman, Sergeant Alan Mobbs confirmed that they had received a report of a sighting from Mr Munslow.
Sgt Mobbs said: "All calls are logged, any action we would take would depend upon circumstances but if it is in the woods we would not go looking for it. Historically, those that we have followed up and traced have tended to be domestic animals."
