Report from Aron Bowers and Chris Smith
A Mysterious big cat thought to be prowling the outskirts of Aberdeen
has been spotted again.
The black beast gave Dyce man Ian Dawson a shock when it ran out on to
the road in front of his truck early yesterday.
There have been numerous reports of a large black cat-like beast in
the area in recent months, particularly near Westhill and Aberdeen
Airport.
The latest sighting was at about 6.55am yesterday on Dyce Drive,
between the airport traffic lights and the Wellhead turn off.
"I was maybe 15ft from this beast. It came right across the road in
front of me. I picked it up in my headlights," Mr Dawson said. "It was
jet black."
The driver had been en route to Laurencekirk to pick up a load and was
headed for the A96 when the feline appeared.
He added: "I would have said it would've been 4 to 4ft long and a
couple of feet high.
"It just came across the road in front of me.
"It's back was sort of dipped from the shoulders back to the tail.
There was a curl in the end of the tail."
Mr Dawson said the cat was running, moving its back feet together to
between where its fore paws would have been seconds before.
The animal ran into a field at the other side of the road, where it
was lost from sight.
Prior to the sighting, he had been sceptical about the tales of big
cats roaming Scotland.
He added: "You hear these stories and you're a bit reluctant to
believe them but when you see them with your own two eyes it's a
different matter.
"You're sort of gobsmacked when you see the thing."
The Scottish Big Cat Trust (SBCT), which was recently awarded
charitable status, studies naturalised non-native cats in the country.
Formerly known as Scottish Big Cats/Scottish Big Cat Society, it
provides public access to its database of more than 1,200 sightings,
and information on cats currently living freely in the Scottish
countryside.
More information is available at www.bigcats.org.
Press and Journal, 9 th October 2003
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