Features

Is this evidence of a big cat on the loose in Gloucestershire? Have you ever seen something similar?

Julie Hills
One has a den in Acton Turville.... my friend saw a him/her in the lane with huge yellow eyes!

Judi
In the snow this morning there were paw prints that were large. Too big for cat/fox/badger and these were very clear. I took a number of images on my mobile phone but not sure how to download these. Don't want to appear nuts but would love to find out what these prints are. [Judi - if you manage to download the pics we'd love to see them! Please email them to gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk - David, BBC Gloucestershire]

Lee
U people wudnt know a wild cat if it clawed you in the face. Get a grip the lot of you

M.Tabberer
there,s been a black leopard living in the forest of dean for the past 8years.i have seen many foot prints and have one on video.Impossible to be mistaken for dog prints,too big and no claw marks.It,s definately in the area at the moment.

Jen
What a lot of people don't even consider is that a normal wild cat can grow big, like, huge. Not as big as the photo above (which I personally don't even think is feline) but much bigger than a domestic cat.

Alex Creed
a year or so ago i was on a car jouney back from the forst of dean going bac to churchdown and i saw a large black animal on a hill, i had heard about storys about panthers but i assumed it was to do with the local youth football team, since then i have always remembered this sight of a large black animal, almost 100% sure it was a cat around the size of a Collie

Chris, BBC Gloucestershire
Kerry, thanks for your message. If you're able to email any photos you have to: gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk, we'd love to pass them on to our big cat expert - Frank Tunbridge - for his opinion.

Miss K.L.Smith
Hello,I actually photographed a couple of very large footprints today whilst out on my dog walk in some open countryside fields next to some woods near Kenilworth. I have taken some pictures of the prints next to my boot & hand and took some of surrounding prints in the mud including my large white German Shepherds to compare. I would love an expert opinion. They look very much the same as the prints taken by Katherine in your article.Regards. Kerry.

Briony Davidson
Also, the claws of cats can be visible on their footprints when they are running, or pouncing! According to this website: www.bear-tracker.com/caninevsfeline.html

Briony Davidson
I don't understand why people are so opposed to the idea of big cats here, it's not that ridiculous! I live on Dartmoor and I've seen what I'm certain are big cat footprints three times, of different sizes, the largest the size of my fist, I have photos aswell. Also I found a huge pointy tooth which I have kept- very sharp, should get it analysed I suppose! Shall I sell them to a newspaper? :)

Shane Cossey
Anyone thinking they had seen a bear emerging from woods at Ruardean Hill on Sunday can rest assured. My gait was somwhat more lolling & bearlike that day, nothing more to it than that I'm afraid.

Gary Greenhouse
i don't understand why everyone is so utterly sceptical. Whilst out U.F.O. spotting I saw a big cat with horns roaming around in the forest of dean and my next door neighbour has seen it too.

paul bennet
I agree with guy there. Only last week I was completely fabricating a 'sighting of a bear in Birdlip' story. Only an utter nincompoop would believe such piffle!

guy williams
what a bunch of liars we have in this county. what next? sharks in goldfish bowls????

Dr. Graham Punting
I've been tracking down all the anomalous animal sightings in the region. from the Huntley Meercats to Ocelots at Longlevens. Tracks of the big cat in the Stroud Valleys are particularly exciting. I have been close enough to catch the scent of one, which had my heart racing with excitement!

david kempster
maybe it's the loch ness monster..... big cat my backside!

tony
have seen it close up 20 ft. and came across many deer carcass's some of which were up in trees. selsley - leonard stanley areas whilst out hunting with my dogs

paul burgham
they look like dog tracks to me we have cougars in this area in british columbia cat tracks dont usualy show claw marks

Matt Smith
Chaddersley woods - 27th March 2007. Saw a huge print, bigger even than the one in this article. Will go back and photograph it. It looked similar and was in mud next to a brook.

andrew hayward
i saw a big black cat in the forests in whitecroft

tom
seen a small black panther at a range of 3 yards before my dog chased it away. it was behind the Dilke hospital and have seen a much larger fully grown cat around the same area.

Leo Goudzwaard
This is a footprint of a large dog, because of the nails. Anatolian Leopard Research Group. www.freewebs.com/anatolianleopard

sofasurfa
Big cats in Britain? Look for their poo!

Becky Hannam
A few years ago, i went to my Grandmas caravan in Minehead. We were driving through the countryside one day, i was bored and looking through the bushes rushing past the window into the fields beyond, daydreaming, when i saw what i thought was definatly a big cat that was a creamy brown colour. I immediatly asked my grandparents to stop the car to look but they didnt believe me. I have owned cats all my life so i know the caracteristics of them. I also know the difference to a cat and a cow, which is what my family said i saw. this was definatly a big cat that was lying down on the grass, facing the road with its head sticking up as if it had heard something. I look very closely when i travel through Somerset now to try and prove to my family what i saw.

george
I am in Scotland in Aberdeen we have been out this morning and i can see clear marks of big cat tracks in my garden and around my chicken pen!!!!!