Another sighting of an animal described as a ‘big cat’ has been made in West Devon.
The mystery feline, which police say may even have been a puma, was seen just after 9pm on May 25 on land near Milton Abbot.
The man, who did not want to be named, said he and his partner observed the animal from an upstairs bedroom window in sloping fields about 50 yards away and although the light was dull it was definitely a ‘big cat.’
He told the Times: ‘It was a mottled, sandy colour, about three feet long and two foot high — perhaps the size of a large, dog fox. ‘It had a long straight tail, which flopped around and it had a short, blunt head. We watched it for about ten to 15 seconds before it disappeared.’
The man said he had had informed the British Big Cat Society of the incident as he felt it was important that people should know about such a large animal roaming the countryside.
Police Community Support Officer Dave Chapple for the Milton Abbot area was not surprised at the man’s sighting. He said: ‘I would believe anyone who has claimed to seen one of these creatures because I have seen two myself — one at Dartington and about two years ago one at Bratton Clovelly. They look like a puma.’
‘I saw it in a lane between the back of a garden and a field. It was about 50 yards away and must have been about two to three feet long with a long tail.
‘It certainly knew of my presence and it frightened the life out of me at the time.’ PCSO Chapple said there have been various sightings over the years, one not so long ago at Peter Tavy and another near the Fox and Hounds public house at Bridestowe.
(Original headline: Further sighting of a ‘big cat’ )
