'Big cat' spotted AGAIN in Heswall

A resident reported seeing a big cat on Heswall’s Whitfield Common on September 1, calling it a “very frightening experience”.

It comes just weeks after a mystery creature matching the same description was seen "limping" down a residential street in the town.

The latest sighting was reported to Puma Watch North Wales, a group set up to document such encounters that has been getting an increasing number of reports from Cheshire and Wirral.

The group has seen reports of sightings in North Wales pick up again this month, with encounters in St Asaph, Rhyl and Anglesey.

At the same time, a cat has been reported in Heswall.

Jon Devoy said he was walking his dog at around 9.30pm when he spotted the “black, large cat” near the trees.

Whitfield Common, Heswall

After stopping to get a better look, he says, he kept cool and calmly left the area while keeping the animal in his sights.

Mr Devoy said: “I was walking the dog, didn’t suspect anything was up as the dog was acting as she usually does.

“I saw a large black silhouette in the tree line (perhaps the size of a fairly big dog). I stopped to get a better look and could see, fairly clearly, that it was a large cat.

“I know you’re meant to keep your cool in these situations so I slowly walked away whilst keeping my eye on it and it followed in the treeline.

“My dog was oblivious to the whole thing, fortunately, I was near the exit and so exited the park area and made it home safely.

“The experience was very frightening and I’ll be walking my dog in very residential areas from now on."

Jon added that he has been reassured by other sightings in the area.

He added: “I thought I was going mad as I didn’t think the UK had big cats but I Googled and found this site which has vindicated me.”

The latest sighting of a big cat has been added to the Puma Watch map. Image: Puma Watch

Whitfield Common, where Jon encountered the animal, is just a few minutes walk from the location of a previous sighting when a residents spotted what he believes was a ‘puma’ limping down Kestrel Road.

This sighting was at 2.30am on Sunday, August 15.

His report said: “I heard a cry like cats fighting.

“I saw a large cat about the size of a German shepherd dog walking down the road.

“It was limping on the rear left leg.”

Puma Watch North Wales founder Tony Jones says as well as a hotspot of sightings in Chester and Ellesmere Port, he has been receiving more reports from Wirral which he has added to the group's interactive map.

He said: "Previous sightings of big cats on the Wirral include Willaston, Prenton, Bidston Hill and Burton Woods.

"The most recent occurred at around 7.15 AM on Wednesday 21st June 2021. Peter was using the Wirral Way cycle path when he spotted an all-black cat, the size of a German Shepherd, run down the embankment on his approach to the Damhead Lane bridge."

He added: "Big cats have also been spotted in Ellesmere Port’s Whitby Park and behind the nearby Costco store this year. A few miles away, Chester has become a big cat hotspot in its own right. This includes one occasion where an animal was caught on camera on Chester Meadows by a delivery driver.

"Big cats such as pumas are solitary with a hunting range of dozens of miles. They’re mostly spotted in Snowdonia and the Clwydian hills but reports of sightings in urban locations some distance from these areas are becoming more frequent."