BRITISH CAT TALES :.

BIG CATS ON LOOSE IN CUMBRIA, ENGLAND

Police have been called out to a string of claimed wild cat sightings in recent years – including reports of mystery monster moggies close to Carlisle and Keswick, and even one claimed sighting of a lion.

Records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show there have been nine reported sightings of big cats in Cumbria in the last six years.

These include claims of a large straw-coloured beast, twice the size of a normal cat, lurking at Wetheral Cemetery and a huge lynx-like animal on the prowl at Applethwaite, near Keswick.

Nobody has ever been harmed by a big cat in the county and police, who have been unable to track down any wildcats, say there is no need for public concern.

But force wildlife workers admit there could be a Cumbrian beast on the loose – and say there is no reason to doubt eyewitnesses.

“The people who report them genuinely believe that they have seen something – usually a large black cat,” said Dennis Crisp, wildlife crime coordinator for Cumbria Police.

“I wouldn’t dispute the fact that there could be something in it. It is possible that something could’ve escaped from captivity, but we’ve had no reports that something has.

“If there is a sighting, it is most likely that one has escaped from captivity and is travelling.”

Some of the reports suggest the caller may have mistaken a more common animal for something more exotic.

Among the beasts spotted was one “sighting” of a lion in a field opposite the South Lakes Wild Animal Park in south Cumbria in October 2003.

Records show a patrol attended and found nothing. No lions were missing from the park.

At Wetheral Cemetery, police searched the area after the report of the large cat in February 2003.

The police report states the result: “Wildlife officer attended scene. Checked and found markings belonging to a fox.”

Other reports include claims of a puma in a field at Bolton, near Appleby, in 2004. “It was jet black and larger than a dog,” said the caller.

Another concerned caller said they had seen a panther-sized fawn-coloured cat on a hill at Troutbeck Bridge, near Windermere, in March 2002.

While in Barrow, a resident said they saw “a black panther going into the rear yard” of a house at Duke Street. Nothing was found.

Mr Crisp added: “There has been nothing to substantiate them or disprove them but we do look at all the cases on their merits and we do keep an open mind on the subject.”

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