Report from Ronnie Patterson
Big Cat spotted near Longridge
13 th of January 1997
A large black cat was sighted close to the village of Longridge, West Lothian. During an interview with Scottish Unexplained Phenomena Research the witness, Mrs. Margaret McCord, informed me that she was tending her daughter's pony, Freeway, when she spotted a large cat-like creature standing approximately 25-30 feet away. The animal was standing slightly side-on to the witness in such a way that she could see most of its body but not its head. Mrs. McCord described the creature as 3ft long and approximately 20 inches in height.
"I am quite a sensible person and I know what I saw. There's definitely something roaming about. It wasn't a dog and it wasn't a fox. It looked like a big cat. I'd like to find out exactly what's going on. We should find out exactly what this is before it attacks a person or an animal."
Margaret continued: "The pony was startled and I looked to see what had frightened her, I saw the animal creeping along as if it were looking for food. I can remember reading of other sightings. When I saw this it clicked that it could be the same animal, isn't it time the experts were brought in to track it down."
Margaret called in the police who were scathing about the whole incident and offered no assistance despite finding large cat-like tracks in the snow. Mrs. McCord also told me that a local farmer had two sheep attacked and they carried large claw marks at the back end. A neighbour of Margaret's had her pet moggy return after a night on the tiles, with a large bite wound on it. The bemused cat was taken to the vet and the owner was informed that it was in fact a cat bite, a very large cat bite!
Despite this sighting not being the first sighting, it would prove nigh impossible to track the beast in the surrounding terrain. The surrounding countryside around Longridge/Breich and Forth consists of acres of windswept moorland combined with miles of dense forest.
Breich had its own cat sighting last year when a startled motorist on the A706, looked on as the large black beast attempted to cross the road in front of him at around 11 am.
13 th January 1997
 |
 |
 |
|
| Return to index | Return to Scottish Big Cats | Return to the Lothians | Return to 1997 |