Two sightings of large black cats near Netherburn
November 1996
Brian R., Village of Netherburn.
Sighted a big black cat while out hunting. The cat emerged from a wooded area (forest) and ran off. It was apprx. 30-40ft from the witness. It was around the size of a Labrador, Jet-black, its tail was almost as long as the body. It moved swiftly and gracefully, it jumped and cleared a burn whilst running away, and again it did this with ease and grace. Brian also mentioned, stumbling across a sheep (He is not sure wether it was the same day) but the dead sheep caused him to question what may have been responsible for its death. The reason being that its fleece was still snowy white, not black with dirt or covered in blood as you would expect it to be had a fox or two been at it. He said its innards had been stripped as had the rear end of the animal.
A friend of Brian's also had a cat sighting, shortly after his. It was the same area and the witness actually saw the cat 'lunge or dive' out of a tree and run off. It then stopped, turned and stared at the witness before carrying on with its flight. Again it was graceful in its movements and possessed great speed. It was jet-black, long tail and about the size of a Labrador.
Brian also spoke of he and his friends coming across a clearing with lots of feathers strewn about, broken twigs and blood. In the same area in the 60s there was a spate of sheep/calf kills which the local farming community blamed on a large black dog that had been sighted several times in the area.
November 1996
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