1995 Surrey 'big cat' sighting...

"I saw a large Panther /puma on box hill around 1995 I was driving down the hill towards the A25 when it jumped onto the road in front me ran for about 100 to 150 yrds then jumped up over the the fence on my right in up into fields it was before the sharp 180 degree bend half way down box hill on the zig zags"

I'd be interested to know the colour of this cat.

Surrey black leopard sighted?

"I have literally just seen it too whilst out on a run (12/10/2014 at 1pm)!

I was running along Rickman Hill Road in Coulsdon, when I saw what looked like a large jet-black dog cross my path about 100 yards ahead. I couldn't get a glimpse of its head but had very large paws and a long tail that curled upwards at end. Having originally assumed it was a dog I carried on running, expecting there to be a driveway that it had walked into, but it was just dense woodland!

Just arrived back home and searched online and found this post, turns out I'm not going mad!"

Not quite the Surrey 'puma' but....

Several newspapers have reported on a 'leopard' on the loose in Surrey. Well, it wasn't a leopard, but still something rather exotic...read more HERE

Fresh sighting of large cat in Surrey

Eye-witness report:
"Just want to report a sighting in Coulsdon, Surrey where I live.

 

Last week (early April 2014)– midweek I think around dusk, I heard an awful snarling outside in the garden.  Sounded like a cat fight but with really loud noises.  I looked out and could see nothing.  It was quite shocking at the time but I thought nothing about it and kind of forgot about it.

 

Then on Saturday evening at dusk, but nearly dark on 5 April I heard a terrible weird scream.  I thought it sounded like a teenage girl but with a yowl sound to it somehow.  I actually went outside to the back garden and looked down the side of the house as I thought the neighbour (older couple – no teenage kids) had gone bonkers.  As I walked back up back towards my kitchen I noticed what were two white circles shining midway up the garden.  I thought for a minute that they were glints from some garden furniture or something but then realised they were two eyes staring at me !!  Judging by the size of them and the width between them on the head I figured this was a large cat – certainly not a domestic.  I could not see the body as it was pitch dark so I worked out the animal must be black.

 

I called my husband to get a torch but by the time he did, the animal had shifted away.  (He thought I had been on the wine and kind of did not believe me !).

 

Then later around 10.30/11pm we both went out to the kitchen to clear up things and saw the sensor lights trigger on the summerhouse (100 ft away down in the garden) then on the patio by the corner of the kitchen.  For a split second I looked out of the window and saw the big black cat, bounding across to other side of the garden.  I’d estimate at a rough guess it must be 4-5 feet long.

 

Haven’t had any more sightings since but heard it on Monday night scaling fences and starting off the local dogs in the neighbourhood."

More Surrey sightings...

There have been a number of sightings over the last few weeks of an animal, purportedly a black leopard, in Surrey. One of the most recent took place on the 23rd September 2013 and involved a motorist driving on the M25 near to the new Cobham services in the vicinity of Wrens Hill Wood. The motorist observed the animal as it was facing the copse. He described it as "black and the size of an Alsatian" and possibly the same animal he saw the previous week as it emerged from the same copse and headed across a field running alongside the motorway. Both sightings took place in the morning as the witness was driving to work.

Surrey 'big cat' seen...

Apologies for lack of updates on this page, that's not down to lack of sightings, more so lack of time. Here is one of the most recent reports regarding a large cat in Surrey, from the Milford area, submitted by a Mr Carter:

"Today on the 22nd August 2013 at between 4:15am and 5:00am (not too sure of the time, sorry) I witnessed a large cat in the street from my bedroom window, I regularly see house cats and the occasional fox walking down the street but this one was different, I saw it walking next to a car and looking under it, where I believe a regular house cat was hiding from the rain as I heard it cry out as the bigger cat looked under. When the house cat made the noise the bigger cat turned away and walked over to the other side of the street, only then did I realise the size of it, the cat was much larger than a house cat and larger than a fox even, it was possibly a little shorter than a Labrador but slim built like a cat and it had a long tail, I can be sure of the colour because it is night but it was dark. It crossed the street and I didn't see it again, which is odd because the only place for it to go is behind the houses, over a small river and onto the golf course."

Milford sits close to Godalming where there have been numerous reports in the past of a large cat resembling a puma. The golf course is key here, an ideal area for a cat to prowl at night or early hours without being disturbed. Also worth noting the line of the river and several small lakes etc nearby. A railway line is also ideal for navigational purposes for a cat travelling at night.
For more historical reports of the Surrey puma check out my book MYSTERY ANIMALS OF THE BRITISH ISLES: LONDON

The witness recently added that the animal he saw was most likely a black 'panther' and not a puma.

Surrey 'big cats' on prowl

Neil Arnold was recently interviewed by the Croydon Advertiser in regards to 'big cat' sightings around Surrey. Read the article HERE although be warned, the inaccuracies from the reporter are laughing with mention of 'Cougars and pumas.....'!!!