Large animal footprints found in the snow at Rhiwlas, Bangor, have caused debate as to whether they belong to a big cat, possibly a Puma, according to the Facebook group ‘Puma Watch North Wales’.
The group aims to raise awareness for concerned landowners and farmers of big cat sightings and attacks on livestock in North Wales.
The paw prints were spotted in the snow on New Year’s Eve near Bangor , although many people have said they were probably a dog, as claw marks can be seen.
Tony Jones, of Puma Watch North Wales, said: “The footprints in the snow are pretty captivating on first glance, perhaps due to the sheer size of one of them.
“It looks like there could be some claw marks which would suggest these are more likely to be a large dog than a big cat, but there’s not enough to go on to be decisive either way.”
Other recent reports of big cats in North Wales include a sighting of “a large cat roughly the size of a Labrador” at Tanlan, Talacre
According to a wildlife expert, there could be around 500 big cats prowling in the British countryside.
Rick Minter, who worked as a policy officer for the Countryside Commission and then the Countryside Agency for 18 years, said he believes there could be around 250 black leopards and 250 pumas in the wild.
There have been claimed sightings of big cats in the British countryside for decades, captured with blurry photographs, but there has been little evidence, The Times reported.
Overall, there have been more than 1,300 big cat sightings across the UK in the last 10 years.
In 2018 North Wales Police Rural Crime received reports of a big cat sighting in the Dee Valley between Chirk and Llangollen.
Police said at the time: “We have had a reported possible sighting of a larger than usual cat crossing the A5 between Chirk & Llangollen. We have no photos or video of it. Sightings of anything similar? Please don’t approach but call us so we can check it out on 101.”
Paw Print Photo Credit: Sophie Van Neste
