Big cat Police are investigating after ‘panther’ is spotted

philip.norris@reachplc.com

ASIGHTING of a “big cat” in the Cotswolds is being looked into by Gloucestershire police. Officers from the Rural Crime Team have appealed for information following a report of a “black panther” in South Cerney on Thursday.

It was the latest sighting of a big cat in Gloucestershire and follows a report from Robinswood Hill last month.

The Rural Crime Team said on Twitter over the weekend: “We’re looking into the report of a black panther sighting in the Wildmoorway Lane area of South Cerney.”

It said any information should be reported via 101 quoting incident 152 of June 4.

The “big cat” was reported by Ellie Haggart, 27, in Wildmoorway Lane near the lakes.

She had been walking her dog, a

French bulldog called Oscar, when she said she saw a “panther come out into full view of the footpath”.

Ellie added: “I didn’t know what it was at first but I knew it was pretty big, I wanted to assume it was an extremely large dog.

“I soon realised there was no owner and then I could start to see certain defining characteristics of the animal, like the feline movement of the shoulders and the difference in the shape of its legs compared to that of a dog.

“I don’t know if it saw Oscar and I, but it started prowling slowly in our direction. I was terrified.”

In a separate incident last month, three sisters who were out on their daily walk said they could not believe their eyes when a big cat casually crossed the footpath in front of them and disappeared into a wooded area.

The sighting was reported near the popular walking spot of Robinswood Hill near Matson Lake.

They said they were stunned at first at what they had seen and days later went back to see if they could spot the creature again.

The sighting happened on Thursday, May 14, at around 5.30pm, they said.

I didn’t know what it was at first but I knew it was pretty big Ellie Haggart