Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Amelia Shaw & Branwen Jones

Startled walker claims he spotted a 'puma' near Welsh castle

There have been two reported sighting of a "puma" in a matter of days. Two members of the public have reported seeing a big black cat - and one of them managed to catch what they say is the animal on camera, North Wales Live reports.

The first sighting came at around 10.30am on Thursday, January 12, in Denbigh when Graham Evans was walking in fields behind Denbigh Castle and noticed the creature drinking from a cattle water trough. Mr Evans said it then crouched very low in the grass as he managed to take a photo before the animal ran off into the distance.

Mr Evans told Puma Watch North Wales: "I was alone on a walk in the fields behind Denbigh Castle when I first spotted the animal. It was some distance away and appeared to be drinking from a cattle water trough. It then jumped down, walked several feet from the trough then crouched down very low in the grass. It must have spotted me.

Read more: Haven caravan park residents say 'run-down' site leaves them with 'impossible choice'

"When I am out and about I always carry a small compact camera. I just managed to take a photo before it sprang up then jumped over a fence into the next field then ran away into the distance very fast then disappeared.”

In another instance, at around 11.30pm on Monday, January 16, a resident of the Brookhouse area of Denbigh startled a "big cat" in the field behind his home. Having inadvertently come within ten metres of the animal, he said it “scared the life” out of him.

Speaking to Puma Watch North Wales, the resident said: "Walked behind my house to dispose of some wastewater near the field behind my property and I spooked something big and black that bolted away from me causing the undergrowth to rustle.

"The noise made me look in the direction of the noise and what I seen was far too big to be a domestic cat and it had reared onto its back legs to pivot and run. I’m a former gamekeeper and know it wasn’t a fox or badger, it was far too big, lept away rather than running. Scared the life out of me, I was around 10 metres from it."

Yesterday, a member of the public also reported finding pawprints in the same woods where "big cats" have previously been caught on video. Chris Hughes was cutting up wood on Tuesday, January 17, in Coed Talon near Pontybodkin, Flintshire, when he noticed pawprints and took a photo with a matchbox for size comparison.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.