Report from Nick Wirsten
Wildcat clue to the beast of Gala hill
From the Southern Reporter, 25 th July 2002
A big beast expert has said the mysterious animal stalking Gala Hill could be a black Scottish Wildcat.
And it is likely to be part of family group living in the hill's woodlands.
Sightings of a mysterious animal Gala Hill have long been part of Gala folk lore - giving rise to the nickname, the Beast of Gala Hill.
Author Di Francis was the first to convince a sceptic scientific world that black Scottish Wildcats existed.
Until her revelations in 1993 it was believed there were only grey and brown species.
And Ms Francis has confirmed that the Scottish big cat might well have killed and devoured the five domestic cats that have gone missing from houses on the edge of the hill. But she also says some of the pets may still be alive - but scared away by their fierce predator.
Worried residents on Parsonage Road and other nearby streets have stopped letting their cats roam free at night after the recent disappearances - two within 48 hours.
Neighbours Elaine McCarter and Morag Cameron both lost pets. Their remaining cats now remain housebound at night.
And the teachers have their own theory about the black animal spotted by former health board boss Bill Anderson, who first alerted people to the danger.
The pair think the killer is a Kellas cat - experts believe up to 800 could be roaming Britain.
Twelve have been killed in Grampian and Morayshire - the black animals were named after a village near Forres where they were particularly rife.
Elaine told The Southern: "We feel the Kellas cat is a plausible option.
"We don't think, as has been suggested, that foxes are to blame. You do not get many black foxes.
Morag added: "One of the cats went missing after a fight with something large and black. All five pets went missing in the middle of the night.
"There have been sightings of a black cat on Gala Hill over the years."
The mystery prompted Morag to search the internet.
She told us: "I came across details of the Kellas cat - I had no idea that such wild animal existed.
"The more I read the more it seemed to fit into the jigsaw."
Cat expert Di has written extensively on Kellas cats and kept some on her farm in Banffshire.
Kellas are described as large - not big - cats.
She thinks what may have been sighted was the bigger black wild cat.
The male is extremely large with an ugly Bull mastiff-type face, pricked ears and a strong-shaped neck.
The female is much smaller - about the size of an Alsatian - with pricked ears. That's a description that fits the Gala Hill animal.
They live territorialy in woodland and hunt in open spaces over a large area.
Di commented: "This is an indigenous species of wildcat that has been around since the Ice Age - it is very exciting.
"Their staple diet is rabbit although some will become sheep killers if they run out of rabbits.
"Cats will also turn on their own - one large kind of wild cat will feed off another kind."
The author said that if a wild cat was on the prowl there would be one clear sign: "Family dogs would go berserk at night - they would do so out of sheer terror."
And she said that same terror might have driven some of the missing family cats away from the area.
If you've ever seen the Beast of Gala Hill, e-mail: bobburgess@tweeddalepress.co.uk, or write to him at The Southern Reporter, The Hermitage, High Street, Selkirk.
Southern Reporter, 25 th July 2002
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