Pregnant puma seen at gunpowder factory
From Scottish Mystery Cat Sightings By Ronnie Patterson
A Mr. J M Jenkins of Edinburgh reported possibly, one of the most detailed sightings, while he was using his metal detector near a derelict gunpowder factory between, Roslin and Rosewell, Midlothian. It was the summer of 1979, he saw out of the corner of his eye a large animal cross the path nearby. He shouted at the beast and it turned giving him a clear view. Mr Jenkins takes up the story. "It was not more than six feet away, a puma beyond any doubt. It was the colour of a golden Labrador with white showing through and it had a black bar crossing its face. It was not in the least aggressive, I made a threatening gesture with my metal detector and it jumped over the ferns uphill, but stopped again after a few yards and turned to look at me giving me another good look at it. I then noticed that the animal was pregnant and was not surprised to read that there had been a puma sighted at Fountainhall, Midlothian at the beginning of 1982. Edinburgh Zoo had female pumas and they were identical to the animal that I saw, they even had the black bar across their faces. I reported my sighting to Bonnyrigg police, and to a farm near the spot."
Mr Jenkins sighting opens up a whole new can of worms as far as the point he made of the animal being pregnant. Does that mean that at the time of the pumas escape, or release from captivity that it was already pregnant. Or has it found a mate and bred in the wild? and did the cubs survive?. There is no doubt that pumas could breed and thrive in Scotland, as they do so in a far harsher environment in some parts of America. An awful lot of questions, but sadly very few answers.
Summer 1979
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