Big cat spotters believe a panther-like beast is stalking the countryside near one of King Charles’s favourite estates. A witness is said to have watched the massive black feline near Tetbury, famously home to Highgrove House, the family residence of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
A dog walker is said to have spooked the potentially ferocious feline when their three big dogs forced the animal to “rush” away and leave a fox it had been trying to maul to death. Big cat sightings are not uncommon in Britain, with many believing the country could sustain a small population of elusive animals, such as panthers and leopards.
Since Victoria times several big cats were brought over to the UK for private collections and some believe the animals now roaming the countryside could be descended from those which escaped captivity over the years.
If a big cat is stalking the fields close to a royal residence, the King may have to take it into account as he has a busy schedule coming up with the visit of Donald Trump in September. The Monarch has also had trouble recently with a different sort of wildlife, in the shape of swarms of wasps which took up residence on his Sandringham estate.
The latest sighting comes after a driver claimed to have seen a black panther by the M5 in May, sparking a debate about whether big cats are regularly prowling near our motorways. The sightings are being probed by big cat expert Rick Minter, who is curating a major exhibition inspired by big cats which is running in Gloucestershire.
The event is being run in association with Rick’s Big Cat Conversations podcast, which has heard about several close encounters from walkers including the Tetbury sighting.
Environmental consultant Rick, author of Big Cats: Facing Britain’s Wild Predators, outlined what happened. “Episode 41 features a dog walker near Tetbury who watched a black panther cornering a fox at dusk,” he explained.
“Her three big dogs were on leads but they rumbled the cat, which rushed away and the fox emerged from its trapped situation and left the area keeping close to the walker and her dogs, seemingly wanting their company for safe escort.”
Rick added: “Episode 71 includes a witness who unwittingly disturbed a black panther hunkered down watching roe deer just north of Stroud. He noticed an orange hue to the animals’ otherwise dark fur, suggesting it was a leopard in its black form, which most of the credible ‘panther’ sightings would seem to be.
“One of the illustrations at the exhibition shows the orange highlights of a black leopard, which can sometimes be noticed when the animal is lit up in sunlight.”
Rick has also been probing the M5 sighting and says a nearby farmer reported that cattle had been behaving nervously at the time for several days.
A driver spotted the ‘panther’ on the western side of the M5/M4 junction in May – leading to claims that our motorway verges may be a strangely attractive area for big cats believed to be living in the British countryside.
“In May a driver claimed to have seen a black panther lurking in the scrub by the M5 motorway verge in south Gloucestershire,” said Rick
“In following it up I found that the neighbouring farm at that spot reported that its cattle had been on edge and were behaving nervously for a few days around the time of the slighting.”
In recent years there have been two other ‘credible’ sightings by motorists who have seen beasts resting on the verge of the M5 between Gloucester and Thornbury, added Rick.
