Report from Reuel Chisholm
Get the feline you're being watched?
From the Aberdeen Evening Express 22 nd September 2003
Out of the forest it comes, scything between the trees, its black body
heaving into view.
No, not a panther, but a spaniel, out for its weekend walk.
Mind you, this is the place for big cats.
A "panther" has been seen or heard at least five times in the past four weeks
in Carnie Woods, five miles west of Aberdeen.
The latest incident occurred when a Westhill dad-of-two stumbled upon a "big,
black" cat while walking here on a Saturday morning.
It must be said Carnie Woods is an unlikely habitat for a 300lb carnivore.
Maybe it's the lack of cover for hunting. Or the fact there are housing
schemes nearby.
But hang on, what's this? A strange animal climbing a tree, big tail hanging
behind it. Just a rare red squirrel.
On average there are around 20 big cat sightings each year in the North-east,
more than a third of the Scottish total.
So just what is it that people are seeing? About 65 of the sightings are
black cats of some description, though one expert put this down to the fact most
are seen at night.
They could be a cross between a domestic cat and a wildcat, but these
wouldn't be much bigger than a spaniel.
It's even been suggested the cat may be a new, native species...
I run into a family out walking their three dogs.
Mum believes in the Carnie Cat, dad doesn't and nine-year-old Stuart just
shrugs.
"It's the fact quite a few people have seen it and it looks the same," says
Julie Dyer.
"I wouldn't come walking here at night."
Husband Dave reckons it might be an escaped pet, but he isn't convinced.
Perhaps the most plausible explanation is that people have simply misjudged
the size of a domestic animal at a distance or in poor light.
It's certainly the one police believe.
What would the Carnie Cat eat, for example?
There are reports of deer being devoured.
However, big cats typically suffocate their prey - rather than savage it, as
dogs do - and stash the carcass in a ditch or even a tree.
There are, I'm happy to report, no sheep hanging from the firs in Carnie
Woods. Only squirrels.
Aberdeen Evening Express, 22 nd September 2003
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