‘Big cat’ found dead near busy M5 junction
A driver claims he saw the body of a big cat by the side of the motorway - fuelling reports of wild beasts roaming across the South West. The sighting was on the M49 near Bristol, close to the junction with the M5[1].
Richy Cushing reported his experience to a big cat research group on Facebook[2]. He said it was "too big" to be a domestic moggy.
He said: “As you come off the M4 and down the M49 on the M5 there is a big black cat lying dead in the road. I couldn’t stop as I was towing my caravan but it was too big to be a domestic cat.”
There have long been rumours of big cat activity in the South West. Devon and Cornwall have tales of beast on Exmoor[3] and Bodmin. The Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire was also the scene of a suspected incident[4] recently.
Wildlife expert and taxidermist, Jon McGowan, who also starred in hit documentary Panthera Britannia Declassified, is not surprised by this latest development, reports BristolLive.[5]
He added: "Big cats are killed on British roads more commonly than you might think. The authorities have been known to send out teams of people in unmarked vehicles to recover the dead bodies of cats killed on our roads before the press or witnesses can record the evidence.
“I have a similar story myself. “I once saw a dead cat on the roadside which was enormous, it could have been up to 9ft long including its tail. Other people thought the animal was a dead lion”.
References
- ^ the M5 (www.devonlive.com)
- ^ Facebook (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
- ^ Exmoor (www.devonlive.com)
- ^ the scene of a suspected incident (www.devonlive.com)
- ^ BristolLive. (www.bristolpost.co.uk)