Non-native Cat Sightings in Scotland in 1997

Big Cat Sightings in 1997
Date	Location	Description	Activity	Report
1997 ?	nr Barry, Angus	Black	Looked like a big dog but arched its back like a cat when it ran
1997 ?	nr Cupar, Fife	Large black feline, smaller than a German Shepherd, 3 ft long with 3 ft sweeping tail, jet black, no other visible markings, rounded compact head.	Seen at 60 - 70 yards for 3 - 4 mins. Feline movement Meandered with head pushed forward across field towards Deer Centre.
Date unknown	Bowden Moor, Scottish Borders	Big Cat
Date unknown	Scottish Borders	Big Cat
Date unknown	St Cyrus, Aberdeenshire	Large cat		Mick Orsi
Date unknown	Auchnagatt, Aberdeenshire	Large cat		Mick Orsi
Date unknown	Near Currie, City of Edinburgh	Very big black cat	Seen by a taxi driver
Date unknown	On edge of Montreathmont Wood, several miles east of Rescobie, Angus		Two later sightings by a water baliff in December
Date unknown	Luthermuir, Aberdeenshire	Large black cat	Seen at four feet. Sighting by same witness in 2001
7 th January	Breich, nr Whitburn, West Lothian	15 - 18 in high, 3 ft long	Police later found tracks in the snow. Similar beast seen in area on 10 th October 1995
approx. January	Livingston, West Lothian	Black, size of alsation dog. Two and a half feet in height. Long black tail curving upwards. Green eyes	Carrying cat or small dog in mouth
January	Banff - Turriff area, Aberdeenshire	Large cat		Mick Orsi
15 th January	Greeness, nr Turriff, Aberdeenshire	Large black cat		Mick Orsi
February	Pentland Hills, Midlothian	Large black cat		Mick Orsi
March	Dunfermline, Fife	Big cat seen on waste ground nr Queen Margaret Hospital	Witness Robert Taylor had other sightings in 1995. Later, in November, he publicises his video of it, taken on 4 th July 1995
7 th March	Silverburn, Pentland Hills, Midlothian	Three sightings of large black cat	Reported to SSPCA
7 th March	Silverburn, Pentland Hills, Midlothian	Injured large black cat by the side of A702	Spotted by woman driver.
c. 7 th March	Pentland Hills, southwest of Edinburgh	Large black cat with injured leg	Spotted by worker
10 th March	Woods nr Murrayfield Hospital, west of Edinburgh
24 th March	Mid-Mar between Garmouth and Mosstodloch, Moray	Large black cat	Seen at 200 yds	Mick Orsi
31 st March	Tullich Straight, Ballater, Aberdeenshire	Large cat		Mick Orsi
April	Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire	A huge cat, the size of a largish dog. Orange with black bits.	Amongst grass and bushes beside road
April	Boghall, West Lothian	Muscular, panther-like creature, 4 ft long and 3 ft high	Seen by male witness. Bounded out of shrubbery behind witness then left a 6 ft fence.
April	Boghall, West Lothian	Large black cat	Seen by witness behind flats
April	Boghall, West Lothian	Large black cat	Seen crossing road by woman and two children
April	Boghall, West Lothian	Large black cat	Seen by witness in garden
April	Pentland Hills, Midlothian	Large black cat	Seen by seven year old on shooting trip
29 th April	Balerno, Edinburgh	Large black cat		Mick Orsi
Approx May	nr Plean, Stirlingshire	Black, cat-like, 3 feet tall, not a dog	Seen at 10 yards in the undergrowth by the side of the road. Failed police search.
May	Balerno, Edinburgh	Puma-like animal	Seen by woman 50 yards from SSPCA centre
May	Croy, Inverness, Highland	Large cat		Mick Orsi
7 th May	Pitcaple, Aberdeenshire	Large cat		Mick Orsi
17 th May	Balerno, Edinburgh	2 - 2 and a half feet high, definitely a big black cat., long tail, thick legs, very powerful looking animal.	Seen at 175 yards by jogger
20 th May	Corrie North of Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire	Large black cat the size of a Labrador dog	Crossed road in front of car
c. 20 th May	Fintry, Stirlingshire	Big black cat, 5 ft long, with bright yellow eyes	Stalked around car. A second sighting, 24 hours later
c. 21 st May	Fintry, Stirlingshire	Big black cat	Spotted by van driver. Sighting 24 hours previously
c. 23 rd May	Nr Kirkpatrick Fleming junction of A7 by Canonbie, Dumfriesshire	Not a dog or domestic cat. Six feet in length	'Sauntered' across the road before disappearing into the undergrowth
29 th May	Pentland Hills, nr Balerno SSPCA Centre, Edinburgh	Black panther, definitely a big cat, about the size of an Alsation dog. Majestic creature.	Spotted by a jogger at 75 yards. Cat walked onto the track, sniffed the air for an instant before leaping into a ditch and disappearing without a sound into a thicket.
June	Melfort Peir, Raera, Argyll	Large black cat		Fran Lockhart
June	nr Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire	Dark in colour with a cat-like neck and head & long tail, eyes amber, big as a Labrador but moved like a cat, stealthily, very agile	Seen by walker on a track. Shot off into the woods.
9 th June	Dalcross, nr Inverness, Highland	Brown beast spotted	Four lambs found dead, partially stripped to the bone. After post mortems it was announced that they had been killed by a dog
c. 11 th June	Between Deanston and Callander, Stirlingshire	Black panther	Spotted by Angler
28 th June	Currie, Edinburgh	Two dead sheep	Suspected big cat kill
after 28 th June	Currie, Edinburgh	Big black cat, size of German shepherd. Sleek, carried head low, and it moved like a big cat.	Cut up towards wood
Summer	Bellabeg, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire	Black cat, size of a large dog	Seen by couple at 50 yards. Two previous sightings nearby.
July	Langholm Dumfries and Galloway	Large cat		Mick Orsi
11 th July	Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway	Large black cat		Mick Orsi
13 th July	A7, Canonbie bypass, Dumfries and Galloway	Large black cat		Mick Orsi
14 th July	Between Grangemouth and Falkirk	Black, long and thin, three feet tall, triangular ears. Not a dog	Seen by cyclist at 10 yds. Returning later with a friend, he heard growling and rustling in the long grass. Failed police search.
18 th July	Nunraw Abbey, nr Gifford, East Lothian	Big cat	Gamekeeper Brian McIntyre took a pot shot and thought he had wounded it. Failed Police Search. Casts taken.
3 rd August	Galashiels, Scottish Borders	Large black cat	Seen later same day in nearby Leebrae	Mick Orsi
3 rd August	Leebrae, Scottish Borders	Large black cat	Seen earlier same day by Galashiels	Mick Orsi
3 rd August	Ardmaddy, Raera, Argyll	Large black cat		Fran Lockhart
21 st September	Loch Coulter, nr Plean, Stirlingshire	Heavily built black cat, 2 and a half feet tall	Seen by angler. Prints also found. Sheep kill a few days earlier
24 th September	Little Eddieston between Garlogie and Drumoak, Aberdeenshire	Jet black with a long black tail. Like a lioness	Padding around a field near a birdwatcher's home
25 th September	Kilrenny, nr Anstruther, North East Fife	2 &/2 - 3 ft high, long black sleek body with a small face and a very long trailing tail. Big cat like-head. Too large to be a dog and had a feline posture. In good condition	Seen three times at 50 yds by three council workers
2 nd October	Denny, Falkirk	Large black cat
October	Nr Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire	Two pumas. 7 to 8 feet long including tail, sandy coloured with pointed ears that sat upright. Believed to be mother and young.	Very muscular - cleared 20 yards in two bounds
3 rd October	Patna, East Ayrshire	Large black exotic animal like big cat	Seen in garden. Blurred video made by witness
9 th October	Ashbrae, nr Selkirk	Greyish with tan markings		Mick Orsi
17 th October	Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire	"Panther-like "creature with a large head, a shiny sleek black body and a long tail	Seen at 60 yds jumping a 4 ft fence in cat fashion. Failed Police Search.
23 rd October	Tarbrax Farm, Glamis, Angus	Large black cat	Head ripped off lamb. A very large fox was shot nearby a few hours later. Was it to blame?	Mick Orsi
29 th October	Newtonhill Flyover on A90 Aberdeen to Stonehaven road, Aberdeenshire	Large black cat		Mick Orsi
Winter	between Lochwinnoch and Kilmacolm	Large black cat. At least 5 feet long. 3 - 4 feet tall. Long tail	Seen for a few seconds at 29 ft by driver. Jumped in front of car. Leapt from verge bounced on white lines and cleared road, through hedge and into field
November	Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire	Large cat		Mick Orsi
2 nd November	Murdermoss, Selkirk to St Boswells, Scottish Borders	Puma-like, dark in colour, possibly black. Body length 4 ft, Alsation-sized.	Initially seen at 100 yeards in headlights then at 10 yds jumping a 3 ft fence.
c.10 th November	Secret Bunker (tourist attraction) nr Anstruther, Fife	What Fife police believe to be a puma or large lynx	Caught on "blurred and inconclusive" video
December	Invercauld Estate, nr Balmoral, Aberdeenshire	Tortoiseshell cat, mistaken for ABC?	Minister's pet cat shot by gamekeeper
Early December	Nr Angus fishery, Forfar, Angus	Bright-eyed, large cat-like animal	Two sightings by water baliff.
Early December	Montreathmont Wood, near Rescobie Angus	Report of sighting
10 th December	Panbride, On A92 between Aberdeen and Dundee, Angus	Jet black and a lot larger than a house cat, bigger than a large dog	Ran across the road and into the fields at the other side
18 th December	Dundee, Former Beatties Bakery in Clepington Rd	Large black cat-like beast	Roaming about derelict site. Pest control officers could not find beast but discovered massive claw markings on a banking nearby.

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