© Herbert Smith/SWNS
Over the years, the panther-like creature has been spotted in Trowbridge, Staverton and Westbury Leigh.
Over the years, the panther-like creature has been spotted in Trowbridge, Staverton and Westbury Leigh.
He told the Wiltshire Times: "Our first impression was sheer astonishment, we really could not believe our eyes at what we were seeing. The animal was eating what we believe it had just caught.
"There was a lot of rabbits about so I expect it was having breakfast. I was about 20ft away from it whilst it was eating, it looked up at me for a couple of seconds then resumed eating.
"If it wasn't for my wife tugging at my arm to get me out of there, I would of stayed observing this magnificent animal."
Over the years, the panther-like creature has been spotted in Trowbridge, Staverton and Westbury Leigh, and was the subject of numerous sightings in 2009.
Other rumoured big cats have been spotted throughout the British countryside, including last month, when Baronet Sir Benjamin Slade spotted a large black animal in his grounds.
The large cats are usually thought to be lynxes, or black cats such as pumas and panthers.
One of the most common theories for the presence alleged "wild alien cats" is that they are the descendants of animals released from captivity when the Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976 came into force, which made it illegal to keep untamed cats.
One area in which I have little scepticism is the presence of a now large breeding population of big cats in the UK.
I once came across a plowed field boundary that was showing developing growth of grain but along the plowed edge there was animal spoor that would have put that of a Great Dane to shame. The interesting thing was that every deposit had been made in a flint hole i.e. a hole in the Earth made when the plow removed a flint. There was a large one of these roughly every square yard and about seventy or more deposits had been made - each one placed squarely in a hole.
This is typical big cat behaviour or so the guy who shot the tiger told me (albeit indirectly) in the Smithsonian foyer. "Tiger, panther or puma - keep away". That day I diverted my walk away from a small wood nearby through which the path ran. I knew the total silence of the wood meant danger.
I also have two friends who have seen these big cats. One - a total sceptic about anthing against which you cannot place a yardstick reported seeing a puma. The other has now seen four in Cumbria. One puma and three black leopard I seem to recall. One was lying in the road as he drove very slowly by thinking it was dog - until it turned and snarled at him.
The UK is positively infested with big cats now. Black Leopard are the most common but lynx and puma are here too. They adapt very well to the environment. About 12% of the UK is woodland and often dispersed in small copses and woods separated by hedged fields. They can travel around at night from hiding pl;ace to hiding place, shy of men. While there are hundreds of cases of livestock being taken they rarely attack even sheep preferring the wild offerings of rabbit, hare, badger fox, boar and deer (which are in large surplus these days). They will also raid garbage bins. They also seem to offer little threat to humans (I think there have been a dozen attacks reported now) but these were probably defensive attacks by surprised animals. A black leopard is weight for weight the most awesome land predator on the planet capable of taking prey up to twenty times their own size. You just don't mess with them.
So if you want a real Safari come to the UK!