(Original headline: THE HUNT IS ON AS BIG CAT IS SIGHTED )
An animal expert believes that a huge feline spotted in a tree could be the latest sighting "big cat" sighting in Doncaster.
The animal was spotted by Barbara and Russell Fearn during a shopping trip to Bawtry last weekend. Mrs Fearn, 50, said: "It was quite unbelievable. We saw it about 50 feet away. We saw this tree moving and we both looked and there it was in the tree. It seemed to fill the tree it was sort of crawling across the branch trying to get to this bird."
She added: "The head looked enormous. It was black and it had these vivid green eyes, we were transfixed. We didn't know what to do, we were flabbergasted. It was definitely not a domestic cat at all. I have had cats all my life and I have never seen anything like it."
Paul Westwood who runs the Big Cat Monitors website, said: "They were quite convinced by what they'd seen. They said it was about three to four foot long from the shoulder to the rear end so with the head and tail it could be as long as five to six feet in total length. The interesting thing is it's right at the side of a railway line. Through my research I have found that most of the sightings of big cats are by railway lines."
He added: "It could have been a black leopard or a puma. I put my card into the local vet. My fear is that if a large cat is so close to a built-up area it might start taking domestic cats and dogs."
And Mr Westwood told the Free Press that only three weeks previously he received a report of a large "panther" crossing a footbridge close to Junction 5 of the M18 near Hatfield.
The Fearns, from Hillsborough in Sheffield, called police who searched the Station Road area after the "sighting" around 1pm on Saturday but they found no trace of the animal.
There were three "big cat" sightings last year on Wheatley golf course, in Moorends and Clayton.
A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: "We advise members of the public to keep their distance from such an animal. Make a note of where you are, what time it is and a description of what you saw." Members of the public are urged to report sightings of big cats to police on 0114 2 20 20 20.
