Report from George Markie
Big Cat Spotted In Fife Again
From the Fife Free Press 7 th September 2000
THE WILD panther-like beast thought to be roaming the Fife countryside has been spotted again.
Kirkcaldy woman Caroline Lech was returning from a day out in Elie when she saw the massive cat running across a field at the side of the road.
Together with her sister and fiancé, she watched in broad daylight as the huge animal - which she described as being much bigger than an Alsatian - ran the length of the field near Largo and disappeared into the bushes.
'We couldn't believe what we were seeing,' the 23-year-old firefighter told The Fife Free Press.
'My sister spotted it first and she said 'Look at that dog!' but when I looked I knew it wasnÕt a dog.
'It was massive and you could tell from the way it was running that it was some sort of cat.'
Caroline's description of the mystery beast fits that of the wild cat that was spotted by a woman walking her dog in Kirkcaldy's Mitchelston Industrial Estate last month.
And although the most recent sighting was made several miles outside the town, experts say it is likely that it is the same cat.
'They cover a huge territory,' said SSPCA inspector for the Kirkcaldy area Craig Brown.
'There have been sightings all over Fife and it is quite probable that it is the same one being spotted in different places but it is also possible that there is more than one around the area.'
Caroline told The Press she had been sceptical about the sightings of a big cat but is now convinced that one is on the loose in Fife.
'There is no doubting what we saw,' he said. 'Everything about it was like the big cats you see on wildlife programmes.
'We went back at the weekend and climbed Largo Law hoping we might see it again but there was no sign of it.'
Fife Free Press, 7 th September 2000
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