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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Nia Price & Kelly-Ann Mills

Beast of Exmoor 'sighting' as big cat 'size of an Alsatian' seen stalking countryside

A couple claims to have captured what could be the clearest footage yet of the so-called Beast of Exmoor as a 'big cat the size of an alsatian' was seen stalking the English countryside.

Lisa Deere and her fiancé Nathan Deere were out last Wednesday morning when they spotted the large black animal running across a field outside of Yeovil, Somerset.

The 32-year-old claims she was so stunned by the sighting she was forced to do a 'double take'.

She said the size of the creature meant she ruled out it being a fox or a domestic cat, which she claims would have been covered by the '10 inch' grass.

Only days before, the pair's neighbour claimed to have spotted a 'big black cat' in the same field but Lisa says she remained unconvinced until she saw it with her own eyes, admitting 'until you see it, you don't believe it'.

*What do you think they say? Do you believe it could be a puma? Join the debate below

The animal was caught on camera (Kennedy News and Media)

Footage of their 'unexpected' sighting shows a four-legged animal stalking across a field, stopping to listen and look around before disappearing into the distance.

The clip convinced many of those who saw it being shared online, with some saying it could be a puma.

Those commenting pointed out how the long grass only just obscured its feet, while others showed clips of house cats from a similar distance to show how small they are.

Lisa, of Yeovil, Somerset, said: "It looked like a big black cat - I definitely don't think it was a domestic cat.

"We'd say it's the sort of size of an Alsatian and it actually looks like it's got a longer tail than a normal cat anyway.

Did they spot a puma? (Kennedy News and Media)

"It was definitely big - we were standing in the middle of the field and it was quite a distance away and if you put a house cat in the field it [the grass] will probably cover it.

"I don't know much about cats but everyone on the yard was saying 'oh, it's a puma' - it's certainly not your normal average cat put it that way.

"I'd say it possibly might be [a puma] - it's one of those things that until you see it, you don't believe it."

Lisa said they caught a glimpse of the mysterious animal which was around 500 yards away for a few minutes and filmed it to prove they'd seen it before it dropped out of the camera's view.

The animal was caught on camera (Kennedy News and Media)

She said: "It was just running across the field and I'm not sure where it's living or if it's in one of the local wooded areas - it's not something you expect to see in the morning anyway.

"Obviously seeing it was a shock but at the same time you're half looking out for it anyways because you want to see it for yourself.

"When my neighbour mentioned it I thought 'oh no, surely not' but he was adamant and when you see it yourself you're like 'no, it was - I believe what he was saying now'.

"I don't know enough about cats to know if it is officially or not [a puma] - it's certainly not a domestic cat and it's bigger than a fox or anything like that."

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