Gloucestershire Echo
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
If you have a
WHEN walker John Blenkinsopp was listening out for woodpeckers, he spotted what could have been a big cat.
Mr Blenkinsopp, 77, saw what he believed may have been a big cat at Nottingham Hill, not far from his Woodmancote home on Friday.
He saw a "tawny-coloured, mottled" animal apparently stalking a deer at around 3pm.
"I was listening for woodpeckers when I saw a roe deer, and got my camera out," he said.
"The deer disappeared then my eyes caught a movement on the left.
"I saw some sort of very low slung, long feline animal slink along. I could only partially see it because of the undergrowth.
"It re-appeared further along then disappeared behind a mound."
He said the sightings, at around 3pm, were fleeting but he could not think of anything it could have been, apart from a big cat.
He reported it to Gloucester big cat tracker Frank Tunbridge who said the sighting tallied with another in Bouncer's Lane, Prestbury, around one year ago.
Meanwhile, academics and National Trust chiefs expect to announce on Thursday results of DNA analysis of suspected big cat kills.
Samples from deer carcasses found mauled near Woodchester Park and near Dursley may add to evidence suggesting a large feline predator is stalking the Stroud area.
Yesterday, the National Trust, which runs Woodchester Park, confirmed two samples of deer which may have been killed by a big cat were still being tested by Dr Robin Allaby of Warwick University.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
If you have a
WHEN walker John Blenkinsopp was listening out for woodpeckers, he spotted what could have been a big cat.
Mr Blenkinsopp, 77, saw what he believed may have been a big cat at Nottingham Hill, not far from his Woodmancote home on Friday.
"feline animal" John Blenkinsopp saw what he thinks may be a big cat on Nottingham Hill
"I was listening for woodpeckers when I saw a roe deer, and got my camera out," he said.
"The deer disappeared then my eyes caught a movement on the left.
"I saw some sort of very low slung, long feline animal slink along. I could only partially see it because of the undergrowth.
"It re-appeared further along then disappeared behind a mound."
He said the sightings, at around 3pm, were fleeting but he could not think of anything it could have been, apart from a big cat.
He reported it to Gloucester big cat tracker Frank Tunbridge who said the sighting tallied with another in Bouncer's Lane, Prestbury, around one year ago.
Meanwhile, academics and National Trust chiefs expect to announce on Thursday results of DNA analysis of suspected big cat kills.
Samples from deer carcasses found mauled near Woodchester Park and near Dursley may add to evidence suggesting a large feline predator is stalking the Stroud area.
Yesterday, the National Trust, which runs Woodchester Park, confirmed two samples of deer which may have been killed by a big cat were still being tested by Dr Robin Allaby of Warwick University.
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