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VIDEO: Big cat spotted in Great Alne again




A BIG cat could be on the prowl in Great Alne near Alcester following the emerge of video footage which appears to show a large sized animal skulking around a field near the village.

The video was shot by Philip White, aged 39, who was looking out of his patio window when he spotted the giant animal in a field behind his home on 29th October.

Earlier that month a cat like animal was described to police as having leopard type markings and was spotted in a field in Great Alne at 8.20am on Saturday, 8th October.

The adult cat on video is about 4ft long with a long black tail and markings similar to a lynx.

Philip, 39, who works for a waste storage firm, managed to film the animal which padded past his home just 70m (230ft) away from him on 29th October.

The dad-of-one said: "I've seen it before but never had my camera so when it appeared again I just started filming.

"I saw it on the left and at first I thought it might be a deer.

"Then it was on the right and it moved quickly across the field.

"It was skulking around and that's when I took the video.

"It's a big cat in my mind, there's no doubt about it. It looks like a wild cat you normally see in the zoo or a safari park.

"Either it's escaped from a private collection or just living in the wild but it was pretty scary to see.

"It looked fully grown and was walking around with confidence so its obviously used to its surroundings.

"We keep our windows and doors closed at all times now and are always careful when we take our one-year-old daugther out in the garden."

Phillip, who filmed the dramatic footage at around 10am, said he was concerned for the safety of people in the village.

He added: "I am worried for the children because they are more vulnerable.

"There are lots of families. There is actually a children's playground nearby so the thought of that is quite concerning."

The sighting comes animal, described as a large feline creature with leopard makings, was also spotted in the same area just weeks earlier at 8.20am on 8th October.

The creature, which is thought to be larger than a fox, was reported by a resident to Alcester Police South Safer Neighbourhood Team.

Another resident, Colin Wilks, 60, from nearby Alcester, also said he heard a creature growl while he was walking his dogs on 10th October.

Big Cat expert Frank Tunbridge, 70, who has investigated wild animal sightings for 30 years, said: "From the size of this big cat, it looks like some kind of leopard.

"It has an enormous tail and appears to be preparing to get into a crouching position, probably to pounce on a small mammal.

"It is definitely a big cat, you can tell that from its body movement and the size of its tail. It could be jaguar but the colouring suggests it's a leopard hybrid of some kind.

"This is one of the best close-up videos of a big cat I've seen in a long time. They are elusive and you rarely see them in the daylight.

"Makers of wildlife documentaries spend a fortune, and often years trying to get footage of a leopard in the wild, so to film one in Britain is very rare.

"These big cats are not dangerous, they keep out of human's way and I've never heard of any attacks."

At the time of the first sighting, professional zoologist Carl Marshall, formally of Stratford Butterfly Farm, visited the location of the big cat sighting after he read an article on the Herald website.

He said: “I managed to find two black hairs snagged under the barb wire boundary between the fields that I've sent to Copenhagen this week for positive identification.

"I must admit they look rather like Canid hairs to me, probably a dog or a fox but I'm sending them to my friend over at Copenhagen University who is an expert on mammal hairs amongst other things."

Have you seen the big cat of Great Alne? Contact the Herald newsdesk – news@stratford-herald.com



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