Another Glos Big Cat Sighting Near Stroud
Businessman Julian Taylor was all shook up when he saw two bright green eyes glinting at him in the headlights as he drove home from an Elvis tribute concert. He believes they belonged to a large panther-like creature which was just 20ft from his car.
[Original headline: Brush with beast after Elvis night]"He was looking straight at me, moving towards the road," said Mr Taylor, who had been driving along a single-track lane near Brimscombe. "I wasn't going to stand around."
Mr Taylor's experience was the most recent sighting of a big cat in the Stroud area and also follows the mutilation of a sheep at Seven Springs, near Cheltenham, last month which wild cat expert Danny Nineham said had been savaged by a leopard. There have been many reports of large cats in the Forest of Dean over the years but only recently have there been sightings on the eastern side of the Severn.
Mr Taylor, who lives in Swindon, was returning from Gloucester where his girlfriend lives after seeing an Elvis Presley tribute concert in Birmingham. An accident blocking the A417 at Birdlip forced him to drive on the smaller roads looking for a detour.
Mr Taylor came across the cat as he turned a corner near Brimscombe, at around 1am.
"What caught my attention was its eyes which were a very bright green," he said. "I only really saw its head, which was massive 12ins in diameter."
This was the second time Mr Taylor has seen a wild cat in the area. "Last time, it was near Birdlip and I saw this creature, four-and-a-half feet long and very, very large," he said. "I can't say if this was the same one I saw last time, but it certainly wasn't a domestic cat.
"I'm going to go back this week to see if I can see any tracks in the broad daylight – I'll have a better chance of running away if I have to!"
Only last month, parents in the north Forest of Dean area were warned not to let their children play outside unsupervised after a dog suffered a near-fatal attack blamed on a big cat. Police spokeswoman Ruth McDonagh said: "We have a wildlife liaison officer collating all reports of wild cat sightings, and we have had numerous sightings in the Stroud area recently.
"We don't think there is any reason for members of the public to be alarmed if there is no imminent danger."
l If anyone thinks they have seen a big cat, they can contact Gloucestershire police on 01452 521 201.
[Source: Gloucestershire Echo - Mar 17 2000]
