Report from Chris Smith
Another Big Cat Seen Prowling At Fenwick
From the Kilmarnock Standard, December 24 th 1999
Mysterious big cats are still on the prowl in the Kilmarnock area. The latest sighting was on Monday, December 13 th when one was seen on the Fenwick Moor. For nearly 30 years there have been reports of puma-like creatures roaming wild in various parts of Ayrshire, but most frequently from the areas around Dundonald, Fenwick and Kilmarnock. The person who saw the big cat last week wishes to remain anonymous. The witness was on a double decker bus travelling on the A77 from Kilmarnock to Glasgow. At around 10 am the bus was approaching Meanskirk when the witness saw a large black cat emerging from a clump of trees..... Said the eye-witness: "The cat was skulking down low and moving slowly as if stalking something......It had been snowing and the black cat stood out very clearly against the white background." The witness said that the animal had a distinctly cat-shaped head, broad shoulders and a long tail. Because reports came in since the law made it more difficult to keep the big cats as pets, the supposition has always been that pumas and other large cats which had been kept as pets, were turned loose by their owners. They adapted to their new surroundings and started breeding, possibly with native wildcats.
One local man helping to solve the puzzle is Mark Fraser of Kilmarnock. He is co-ordinating sightings of large cats and has recently started an Ayrshire Big Cats web site. You'll find it at http://www.killie.totalserve.co.uk If you have spotted any large cats, Email Mark at MarkFraser@hauntedscotland.freeserve.co.uk.
December 24 th 1999
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