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Big Cat on the Prowl at Westhill By Sally Hind

Evening Express: 19th June 2008

Evening Express
   
Mum saw big cat in countryside
A MUM today told how she watched a “big cat” on the prowl while walking with her daughter near Aberdeen.
The pair claimed they spotted the beast – which was as big as a dog – near Westhill. It was the latest in a string of similar sightings in Aberdeenshire.
Several residents have told of a black cat which slinks around near the Westhill’s golf course.
Big cat experts have even visited the area to carry out research.
Kim Munro, 47, of Hilltop Drive, said she saw the cat recently when out walking in the area with her daughter Ami, 17.
The lecturer said: “My daughter saw it first and was shocked.
“It disappeared but then came out again. I couldn’t believe it.
“It wasn’t a dog or a domestic cat – it was about the size of a large Labrador.
“It had a big, long black tail and a cat’s face and ears.
“It had low-slung movements, not how a dog moves.
“People just don’t believe you about things like this.
“They’re a bit of a myth, like the Loch Ness monster I suppose.”
Kim’s friend Melanie MacNeil, 47, said she was “relieved” when Kim called her to say she had seen the cat – because she saw the same thing 18 months ago, from 400 yards away.
The dog trainer, who also lives on Westhill’s Hilton Drive, said: “I was delighted when Kim told me because nobody had believed me when I said I’d seen it.
“I spotted it just a little higher up the hill from where Kim saw it.
“I used to have a border collie and thought it looked like a dog at first, but then it turned and stared at me before leaping off. The tail was a strange shape, not like any dog’s.”
Danny Bamping, from the British Big Cats Society, is an expert on sightings like these.
He said: “I have personally visited the area where this cat was spotted.
It’s the perfect habitat for them and they have plenty of resources and food.
“Cat sightings like this have increased over recent years, and Scotland has certainly been a hotspot for some time.”
shind@ajl.co.uk

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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