Report from Chris Smith

Panther seen near Kincraig

1982?

I saw a large black cat, directly comparable with a black panther, after a visit to Kincraig Wildlife Park with my mother and brother when I was about 12 (ie. 18 years ago!, 1982?). I am a zoologist and naturalist, and the animal was not any member of the usual Scottish fauna. We saw the cat in the late afternoon as we were driving south, not far south of the wildlife park, and it sprang onto the top of a large glacial erratic boulder, a jump which would not be made by a dog. We saw the animal at fairly close quarters as we were driving, and all 3 of us saw it (although I think it is much clearer in my memory than in that of my mother or brother). I would say that it most resembled a black panther but could have been some other big cat.

Yours, H. M. BSc (ornithologist and naturalist)

1982?

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