This is Scottish Big Cat's own round up for the year, and undoubtedly only represents a fraction of the total sightings.
Non-native Cat Sightings in 1985 |
Date |
Location |
Description |
Activity |
Report |
around 1985 |
South of Burghhead, Moray |
Very large black puma-type cat |
Seen by two members of RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue team. Cat jumped out in front of the car and disappeared into forest. |
|
date unknown |
River Lugar between Ochiltree and Mauchline (Auchinleck Estate), East Ayrshire |
Large black cat, about 2 and a half foot high and six foot in length including tail. |
Looked at angler |
|
8 th January |
Castle Sween, Knapdale, Argyll |
Tawny cat, large tail, larger than fox |
|
Police via Fran Lockhart |
11 th January |
Loch Head Farm, Knapdale, Argyll |
|
Large cat-like footprints found in snow |
Fran Lockhart |
25 th January |
Kilmartin, Kilmichael, Argyll |
Large tawny cat |
Three sheep killed - headless |
Fran Lockhart |
27 th January |
Ford, Kilmichael, Argyll |
Puma-like, larger than dog |
|
Fran Lockhart |
late January |
Aberlour, Moray |
Cat |
|
Northern Scot (26 Jan) and Forres Gazette (30 Jan) |
2 nd March |
Inverary, Argyll |
Large cat, cat-like head, large tail, large paws |
|
Fran Lockhart |
early April |
Lossiemouth, Moray |
Cat |
Photograph in Northern Scot |
Forres Gazette (3 Apr) and Northern Scot (6 Apr) |
before 10 th April |
nr. Sanquhar Mains Farm, Moray |
Large black cat, felid head |
Seen by three youths |
|
May |
Aberlour road, Moray |
Cat |
|
Forres Gazette (29 May) |
June |
old Lomond Bear Park, Balloch, West Dunbartonshire |
Huge black cat, size of a tiger |
Seen by two witnesses |
|
July |
Furnace, Inverary, Argyll |
Large black cat, large blacked tip to tail, flat feline face, large paws |
|
Fran Lockhart |
c. 17 th July |
Dallas, Moray |
Glossy black coats with white guard hairs, unusually long limbs, a squat, ferocious head, and bushy tail |
Young male shot by a gamekeeper. British Museum in London to examine skeleton and organs and Aberdeen's University to conduct blood tests. Three other individuals killed over 18 months |
|
late July |
Luss, Argyll & Bute |
Big black cat, as big as Alsatian, short very shiny black coat,small head, small pointed ears , long tall. |
Seen by two witnesses from car. |
|
September |
nr Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire |
Like black Labrador dog, but with long tail and cat-like way of walking |
Seen by family of three walkers at 100 yards |
|
September |
Inverness, Inverness-shire |
Cat |
|
Mick Orsi |
October |
Dallas, Moray |
Cat shot by gamekeeper |
Photographs |
Forres Gazette (16 Oct) and Northern Scot (19 Oct) |
October |
Moray |
Research into origins of cat |
|
Northern Scot (25 Oct) |
October |
Moray |
Failure of blood tests to shed light on cats origins |
|
Forres Gazette (30 Oct) |
November |
Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire |
'Black panther', huge black face,.green eyes, nine feet in length |
Seen twice by taxi driver two miles apart |
|
3 rd November |
Ormsary, Kilmichael, Argyll |
Large tawny/grey cat |
|
Fran Lockhart |