Just weeks after the shredded carcase of a lamb found on the outskirts of Cruden Bay reignited rumours that the infamous 'Beast of Buchan' was back on the prowl, the fabled black cat has been spotted again in the North-east.
Mintlaw man James Maskame (34) said that he saw a black panther-like animal stroll out of the woods near to his home at The Beeches on Thursday, before running across farmland and out of sight.
He claims that the animal he saw was not like a dog, domestic cat or any other animal he had ever seen before, estimating that it was at least a couple of metres in length.
There have been many sightings of a black cat-like animal roaming the North-east countryside in the last few years, with this sighting adding to last month's claims by veteran Cruden Bay farmer, Jim Cantlay, that only a large, cat-like animal could have inflicted the attack on his lamb.
Mr Maskame told the Buchanie last week: "I saw something large and black moving through the field near to the back of my house, and at first I thought that it might have been a rottweiler.
"I went into the garden and climbed on the fence to try and get a better sight of it, but it moved out of sight and didn't come back.
"I only saw it for a couple of seconds, during which time I tried to determine exactly what it was," he added
Mr Maskame, who lives with partner Nicola Thornton (27), has heard the stories about panther-like animals roaming the North-east, and says that this sighting only reinforces his belief that there is something out there prowling the countryside.
"I was surprised to see something like that during the day, as I would have thought it would be too scared to roam about in broad daylight," he said.
"The area is quite quiet at the moment with a nearby major road being closed, so perhaps that is one of the reasons that it is prowling the area," he added.
An SSPCA spokeswomen said after the Cruden Bay incident that wild cats could quite easily have been roaming the Buchan Countryside for the last 35 years, after the Dangerous Wild Animals Act was introduced which stopped people owning lions and wild cats for example as pets without permission.
Some people therefore simply released their animals, which was legal at the time, into the countryside to avoid breaking the law and paying for the cost of proper licensing.
"I am in no doubt whatsoever that it was a big cat I saw, and it really did give me a shock and got the adrenaline pumping," said Mr Maskame.
(Original headline: Fresh beast of Buchan sighting at Mintlaw )
