In recent years there have been dozens of ‘big cat’ sightings across Gloucestershire. Some people have had the courage to get their phone out of their pocket to take a picture of the creature, where as sometimes the animal is too fast and disappears from sight in a matter of seconds.
Past eye-witness accounts have heard a woman walking her dog along a canal path near Stroud when she realised there was a big cat on the bank watching her and her little dog. Slowly and carefully she picked up her beloved pet and made a steady retreat.
Man people who have spoken of their big cat encounters in the county have said how they were frozen to the spot in fear. However there have been a few cases where eye-witnesses have been able to get their phones out in time to capture video footage of a big cat walking in the Gloucestershire countryside.
Top three big cat videos
November 2024: Big cat seen next to busy sports field in middle of the day
A man was shocked to see a big cat sauntering down a Gloucestershire field next to a green bustling with a weekend lunchtime sports game. The animal was seen by others as it strolled past a fence before going into the woods and sat curiously watching everything happening on the green.
The sighting of the creature happened earlier this month near a busy weekend sports fixture. The man, who does not want to be identified, saw the animal with rolling shoulders walking in the field and he was taken aback by its size and said it was ‘clearly a large cat’
He acknowledged that the video he captured of the creature is grainy, making it difficult to accurately gauge the size of the feline. However, he estimated that the animal was about the size of a Labrador.
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The man, who said he only wanted to give the location of the sighting as Gloucestershire, said: “I was at a sports game and another spectator to the right of me noticed the animal and said ‘what is that’. I looked over the way and could see a big cat walking along the fence in the neighbouring field.
“That is when I got my phone out to video the animal. It is hard to say the size the animal was because of the distance and perspective however I would say it looked as if it was the size of a Labrador. .
“The size of it and the way it moved was different to a domestic cat. It was different in how it was moving down the path with speed and distance it was travelling.
“It looked out of place being there but it was clearly a large cat. I have been open minded yet sceptical about big cats living in the UK countryside and it took me days before I decided to show the video to a few people who I know.
“In the video, you can see when the cat stops, the animal looks large. It was definitely a cat from the way it moved. It could have been a big cat or a big domestic.
“I seen it walking along a fence in the field opposite and then it went off into the woods. It seemed to sit down in the woods and curiously watch the world go by.
“I’ve heard about big cats living in the UK countryside. What I had seen was a cat of some sorts.
“I am impartial in saying for sure what the creature was. However the evidence is there for people to make up their own mind.
“People who I have spoken to who have watched the video have said the animal in the video is a large cat but whether it is a big cat, I can not be sure.”
March 2023: ‘Panther’ caught on camera in Forest of Dean field by A40
A couple who had travelled from overseas to visit family in the Forest of Dean, captured what they believed to be a big cat in a field adjacent to the A40. At first they were not sure what the creature was but the lady can be heard on the video wondering if the jet black animal was in fact a panther.
The creature was filmed from some distance away but can be clearly seen against the background of the green field. The lady who recorded the footage estimates the animal to be as tall as a Labrador dog and twice as long in the body.
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Intrigued by what she had seen, the lady set about contacting someone who may have information on big cat sightings in Gloucestershire and the rest of the UK. The footage was shared and is said to be one of the best videos yet of a big cat sighting.
Frank Tunbridge, 74 from Podsmead has been studying wildlife and big cats for around 60 years. Having reviewed the footage, he says the evidence of big cats roaming the British countryside is overwhelming now.
Mr Tunbridge said: “To most people throughout the UK the concept of large predatory wild cats, similar in description to black leopards and pumas living a feral existence in our woods and other wild places is unbelievable.
“We can accept other species, such as mink, muntjac deer, wild boar, wallabies, and ring necked parakeets with some distain. Yet the mere thought of coming across a big cat, the size of a large dog , only 10 metres ahead, whilst on a quiet stroll in the countryside fills most people with dread.
“The incredible facts are though, that this happens on a weekly basis throughout the UK. I defy anyone to take a take a photo on their camera phone when faced with this situation.
“Most are literally frozen to the spot with fear, and will not take your eyes off of the creature, and then after five to 10 seconds later it will be gone in a couple of bounds, generally disappearing into some nearby cover, but leaving you with an image that stays with you forever.”
Mr Tunbridge believes there are between 16 -24 sightings of big cats every week, throughout Great Britain. He believes many people keep it to themselves, for fear of ridicule.
He said: “The accompanying video to this article was sent to me by a lady and her partner, who lived overseas, and were visiting relatives at Christmas just gone 2022. It was taken in a field adjacent to the A40 Road ,near the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. The lady’s comments speak for themselves.
“The whole tantalising subject of ‘ The British Big Cat ‘ has been rolling on for decades now , without a satisfying conclusion. The evidence is now overwhelming with thousands of eye witness reports.
“Road kills of big cats have been seen, but removed by authorities. Deer and sheep dispatched and eaten as only a large felid would do it. There is video footage and signs in fields such as, scratch marks, droppings, hair, and vocalisation.
“Back before the 1976 Dangerous Animals Act was implemented by the Government, many exotic wild animals were kept as pets throughout the UK, with large carnivores especially favoured. Due to the stringent new rules imposed by this new legislation lots of owners’ released their ‘pets’ into wild places up and down the country to fend for themselves.
“With the abundance of live prey available, including rabbits, pigeons, and deer, these ‘abandoned’ carnivores soon adapted, bred, and spread, with hybrids of different species appearing here and there.
“Now after almost 50 years, as well as the likes of some leopards and pumas still roaming around, a naturalised ,wild and medium-sized cat is now breeding true to type across much of Great Britain and it is generally black or fawn in colour, with a long body and tail.
“It has established itself as now being part of the British Wildlife scene, alongside the aforementioned species, such as wild boar, ring necked parakeets, and the newly introduced beaver.”
If anyone wishes to contact Mr Tunbridge regarding any unusual wildlife sightings, please email him in confidence at franktunbridge@hotmail.co.uk
May 2021:Big cat spotted at Gloucestershire fishing lake and caught on camera
A man out fishing with his friend was shocked to see a big cat casually walking along the hedgerow across the lake from where they were sat in Haresfield. The animal was seen in May 2021 on a last Sunday at around 9.45am from around 300 yards away .
Spotter Paul Johnson, 31, from Gloucester, estimates the animal was up to a metre long and half a metre tall. He said: “My friend and I were at Haresfield fisheries and we watched the big cat walk across the hedge line down towards a track. It was not stalking anything, just walking along.
“The picture which I took does not really do it justice, but when I first saw it, I thought ‘wow that is a big cat’. I work building fences and that, so going by the picture I can make an estimate of it’s size. I would say it was not quite a metre long.
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“I did think it was quite random when I saw it. It went and sat down and was quite chilled out for about ten minutes before it went down the track. I was not scared of it, but I would not exactly have walked up to it either.”
Mr Johnson was one of five anglers who saw the animal that morning.
He said: “I believed big cats are out there before I had seen this one. It is the perfect place for a big cat. Obviously it has water near by and plenty of rabbits for it to live on. It was unexpected to see, and it has not scared me off going there again. I will be back up there fishing again next week.”