Man claims to have seen wolf in forest
From the Press & Journal 21 st August 2000
A visitor to the North-east claimed last night that he had encountered a wolf in the wild during a recent holiday.
Conrad Sheward, 62, was on a shooting trip with friends when he saw what he was sure was a wolf roaming Clashindarroch Forest, near Huntly.
Mr Sheward, from Gloucester, was driving up a hill with friend Richard Brundle and Mr Brundle's 15-year-old son, Tom, when made their apparently startling discovery last Monday morning.
"We opened the locked forestry gate and drove through about 100 yards and then came to a bend," said the lawyer.
"About 120 yards away, there was an animal in the middle of the road sideways on to us. It turned and looked straight at us. Initially I though it was a huge fox. It was grey with a whitish tail but it was too big for a fox."
Mr Sheward, who has been visiting the North-east for nine years, said he had seen wolves in the flesh at wildlife parks and was convinced his eyes had not deceived him.
"I have got no doubt in my mind that it was a wolf. I would have known if it had been a dog."
Mr Sheward had been staying with friend Jim Copland, from Aberdeen, who has been shooting tenant at the Forestry Commission-owned land for 18 years.
Mr Copland, 73, said he had never seen or heard reports of a wolf on the estate - but was not overly surprised at his friend's apparent sighting.
He said he had been told of reports that wolves were being released into the wild in the Highlands. The presence of the predators would be a major setback for local farmers whose livestock would come under threat, added Mr Copland.
He said he first suspected the animal might have been a giant cat such as a puma Ð revealing that a feline beast had been shot and buried in the forest two years ago.
"Wolves are a dangerous animal which would prey on livestock," he said.
Some conservationists have appealed for the reintroduction of wolves in the Scottish glens to save the countryside from an explosion of red deer.
© Press & Journal: 21 st August 2001
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