THE big cat of Merthyr Tydfil could have been stalking the borough for more than a decade after a woman claimed she saw the panther in the late 1990s.
Kathleen John, of Aneurin Crescent, Twynyrodyn, said she startled the prowling predator in her back garden more than 10 years ago, before it leapt over her 7ft hedge into the darkness.
Reliving the terrifying encounter, she said: “It was the winter and about 7am in the morning and still dark.
“I went into the garden to put rubbish into my bin and as I tried to open the outer door it was sticking and made a noise.
“As the security light came on I was aware of something large and black on the lawn. At first I thought it was a large dog.
“It moved quickly as the light came on towards the bottom of the garden and leapt over the hedge, clearing it which was strange because the hedge is about 7ft high.
“I would have thought a dog wouldn’t have be able to clear it so easily, if at all. It must have been a large cat such as a panther.”
Ms John believes the beast she spotted, which had a “small head and long legs” was stalking its next victim.
“Our garden leads onto a park and open space so it may have chased a small animal such as a squirrel.
“I can’t fathom why else it would be attracted to our garden as we have no pets and always use our wheelie bin for food waste.”
In last week’s Express farmer Phillip Davies of Aberfan told how he spotted a big cat prowling through his fields.
And in an earlier incident, Mr Davies found the carcass of one of his lambs dangling from a tree – leading to fears the panther might strike again.
Fay Thomas, 36, of Brecon Heights, Merthyr, said that her husband Gareth spotted a mystery beast a year ago.
“He was walking the dog and as he looked down he could see the panther,” she said.
“He said it was massive and his tail was about 3ft. We were hysterical laughing at the time and we joked about starting up a panther trail. But he was in a real sweat – he came in, sat down and had a paracetamol.
“He said he had stumbled as he went to get his mobile phone to take a picture and it ran away.”
Mr Thomas said that he did not fear the beast which he describes as “the length and a half of a sheep”.
“I wasn’t scared. I went to try and take a picture but as I ran down the bank I fell over and by the time I went back up it had gone.”
Mrs Thomas said she was shocked that the predator had returned and was confident she knew where its lair was.
“It is like a tunnel on the Heads of the Valleys Road, it is about 30ft and leads through to a farm,” she said. I think it is sleeping there.
“My dog always tries to go near there. I have seen some carcasses up there.
“It is really worrying – I am afraid to go up there. I thought they lived in hot climates.
“I can’t believe it has come back.”
Have you spotted the mystery big cat? E-mail jonathan.whiley@mediawales.co.uk
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