A family in Methil, Fife, believe they have been visited by a big cat which some people believe lives in the area.
Their pet rabbit had a lucky escape from the creature, with only a mangled hutch left as evidence.
Fiona Price told Fife today: "He [her husband] heard a noise outside the window which looks out on to the patio area where our rabbit hutch is and when he looked he thought he saw a black shape running past.
"When we went out later, we couldn't believe how badly damaged the hutch was, like something had been trying to get in."
She added: "It was covered in scratch marks up near where the bolt is and one of the legs was right off.
"Luckily, the rabbit, which belongs to our three young daughters, was in the house at the time."
Mark Maylin, the police wildlife liaison officer said he would not rule out the possibility of one, or even a number of big cats being at large.
He said: "It's possible that a creature such as a leopard would take a pet rabbit.
"But, a cat's hunting instinct is triggered by movement, so an empty hutch is extremely unlikely to get any attention from a cat."
(Original headline: Big cat sighting in Fife )
