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Latest Tail of Tall Black Cat

West Lothian Courier: 17th August 2007

West Lothian Courier
   
WILD cats could be on the prowl in West Lothian according to a leading research group.
The Scottish Big Cats group has been contacted by several people in West Lothian who have claimed to have spotted a large black cat roaming the area.
And now the research group wants to hear from anyone else who may have spotted the wild cat.
The latest sighting came from a couple who were walking their dog in Ecclesmachan, opposite Oatridge College at the end of July.
The pair claimed to have seen a large black cat about three feet long and over two feet tall on the path in front of them.
The dog owner said: "We were walking along a path and it crossed in front of us, talking no notice of ourselves or my dog.
"We had no idea what it was, but it was a cat of some sort and definitely not a domestic one as it was far too big."
Previous to this there had been two sightings of similar animals in the area last year – one at the Houstoun House Hotel near Uphall Golf Club and another in the woodland immediately east of Craigshill, adjacent to the National Cycle Network route.
Mark Fraser from The Scottish Big Cats group believes the sightings could be of an extremely rare Kellas Cat or a Melanistic Leopard.
He said: "From the descriptions we have received from members of the public it can only be a few things.
"It could be a Melanistic Leopard, commonly known as the Black Panther.
"But as this is extremely rare in its country of origin then it is highly unlikely this cat in West Lothian is one of them.
"It is much more likely to be a Kellas Cat.
"The Kellas Cat is a black feline much larger than a common house cat.
"It was named after the village of Kellas in Moray, where it was first found in 1984.
"Before then they were usually thought of as mythological beasts and the few sightings of them were dismissed as hoaxes.
"Kellas Cats are a native Scottish wildcat but are not usually found south of Aberdeenshire so it would be interesting to find out if any have made it to West Lothian.
"We would like to know if here have been any more sightings in the area. All personal details of witnesses will remain anonymous.
"It doesn't matter how long ago the sighting occurred or how trivial the witness may think it to be.
"We are especially interested in obtaining hard evidence, such as video footage, prints, photographs of livestock kills, tree scratches, faeces and the like.
"There has been 91 sightings in Scotland so far this year and 75 per cent of the reports are of a large black feline animal.
"If we get more sightings then we can plot the movements of the cat and build up more information on it."
To contact Mark with any sightings e-mail him at bigcatsinbritain@bt internet.com or visit www.scottish bigcats.org

Do you have any information on the above reports. Were you the person involved, or are you aware of any more sightings in this area. We would appreciate any information that you could give us.

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