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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Matt Atherton

Snowdonia walkers report 'aggressive' big cat sightings - and 'massive' paw prints

Three people claimed to have spotted big cats in Snowdonia over the past three months.

All of the walkers were stunned when they came across the elusive big cats, which are believed to include pumas.

A fourth national park explorer even took a photo of a "massive" paw print at the top of Cwm Pennant valley.

All of the walkers reported their sightings to Puma Watch North Wales - a group set up to investigate reports of big cats, according to NorthWalesLive.

Stephanie Robinson revealed she saw a "brown or tawny big cat" in the early hours of July 25, while hiking up Snowdon's Pyg Track.

Three walkers have reported big cat sightings since April (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

She said: "As I was hiking up Snowdon with only a head torch, I heard a loud, aggressive growl come from a cave/sheltered area

"I remained silent and turned off my head torch as I didn’t want to attract the wild animal that lay before me."

About three weeks previous, wild camper Max said he came across a big cat in the middle of the night.

He heard "squeals of an animal nearby", and then came face-to-face with a large animal shortly afterward.

Max said: "About five minutes later I saw a set of golden eyes reflected in my head torch, about 50m above me and 50 meters ahead of me.

"The eyes looked a bit high off the ground for it to be a fox. It stared at me for a while.

"When I shouted at it, it looked away, then back at me, and then disappeared. I wasn’t convinced until I saw other sightings near here online."

Big cats have been spotted across all of Snowdonia, according to Puma Watch North Wales (Puma Watch North Wales)

A third person claimed to see a Snowdonian big cat at the start of April, just east of Bethesda.

Sarah came across the animal shortly after midday on April 6, in Pen Braich woods.

"I saw a large black animal – I thought it was a dog – and it watched me walking by," she wrote.

"I tried to go near it, but it disappeared into the woods, so quiet. I was out walking my dog on my own, but I called my husband straight away as I was shocked."

Meanwhile, one walker spotted a giant paw print at a popular starting point for Snowdon.

Adam found the paw print among disused quarry workings, he said, and immediately took a snap.

Adam came across the 'massive' paw print at the start of a Snowdon trail (Puma Watch North Wales)

But, despite the numerous sightings, many people are still sceptical about the existence of big cats in Snowdonia.

There's a lack of photographic evidence to back up any of the claims - although it wouldn't be your first thought if you came across an aggressive animal.

That said, the number of sightings continues to increase, and further proof of their existence could be just around the corner...

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