Report from Chris Smith
Big cat sighting at St Fergus
From the Buchan Observer, January 2004
WHAT appears to have been a big cat was spotted on the outskirts of St
Fergus recently.
In what is believed to be the latest sighting of the Beast of Buchan,
the creature was spied prowling in a garden in Kirton in late December.
A local resident cooking supper in her kitchen heard a noise in her
back garden and went to investigate.
The woman, who preferred not to be named, told the Buchanie: "We have
a dog and initially I thought maybe it was outside, only to find it
was inside with us.
"As I looked out over our garden, all I could see were a pair of eyes
that were like saucers. It was too big to be a dog or a domestic cat,
and there were no cattle or sheep in the field bordering our garden.
"When it spotted me looking out it turned and with just a couple of
massive leaps bounded right out of the garden and away into the fields
beyond."
The woman, who firmly believes it was a big cat, reckons it may have
been attracted by the rustlings of a pet rabbit which lives in a hutch
at the rear of the house.
She added: "Everyone with the exception of my mum doesn't believe me,
but I am convinced it was a big cat."
There have been many sightings of this puma-like creature across
Buchan in recent years.
People have claimed to have seen the beast from as far afield as
forestry near New Deer to the foreshore at Boddam.
Francis Yule was out walking her four-year-old Springer Spaniel Lucy
behind Peterhead Power Station in 2001 when the cat-like creature
suddenly appeared from behind a rock.
Widlife experts believe such large cats could well exist in Buchan
given the wealth of tree cover and ample food supply.
Private collections of exotic creatures were common enough in the late
18th and early 19th centuries. It has been suggested that big cats
could have their origins in animals released from captivity into the wild.
Could it have been a panther the St Fergus woman spotted in December?
© Buchan Observer, January 2004
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