Trackers Close In On Beast Of Ballybogey.
Police say the net is closing in on a big cat running wild on Ulster's north coast.
Police and animal welfare chiefs said they had narrowed the 150 square mile search down to a wooded area near the village of Ballybogey, outside Portrush, Co Antrim.
The big cat - thought to be either a puma or a panther - has been blamed for mauling several sheep after being set loose by a rogue owner who faces prosecution once it is caught, police said.
Police marksmen are on standby to shoot the exotic animal. which has eluded capture for more than a month.
Even though the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also has tranquilliser guns ready, a police spokesman said: "The bottom line is it will probably be killed.
"We would like to be able to dart it but the problem with that is you have to get up close and nobody has been able to do that."
There have been more than 20 sightings of the animal in the north Antrim area since August.
As police stepped up their bid to catch the cat, an intense dawn to dusk operation involving officers and the USPCA was carried out. Members of the public who spotted the animal were urged to phone the authorities and stay on the line until help arrived. At least three reports were made today.
"We are concentrating on a wood near Ballybogey we believe the cat may be in," the spokesman said.
Annova: 24th September 2003/