Sunday 22 May 2011

Catbeast - Four new sightings

Published on Saturday 21 May 2011 13:00

THE catbeast of Calderdale has been spotted again – by four more witnesses.

One of them described the elusive cat – either a lynx or puma, like the one pictured – as “massive...absolutely huge.”

The four who claim to have had a brush with the beast have come forward since the Courier featured 19-year-old dog walker Sean McGeady’s encounter last Monday.

Kay Hall believes she spotted a lynx while out walking a dog from Croftmount Kennels in Lane Head Lane, Ogden, Halifax.

The 60-year-old, of Ogden, said: “There was this bird swooping down at it and it made a hissing noise, a weird noise. It was much too big to be a cat.

“I stopped and watched it and it kind of stalked away.

“It was dark in colour and had very big, pointy ears.

“There’s no way it was a fox. It was totally different. It really spooked me.”

Heather Scurrey, 28, of Elland, was out walking her dog Stig when she says she saw a huge black cat on a hill in Ainley Top.

She likened the beast to a puma and said it was about the size of a large German Shepherd dog.

“It was definitely a cat of some description and had a very large, long tail,” she said.

“I have a cat myself so recognised the gait as it was walking and it was not another animal.

“I know what I saw and that was a large puma-like black cat.”

Shannon Griffin, 37, was out hunting rabbits with his friend Gary Roberts, 44, in fields off Deanstones Lane, Queensbury, when he spotted what he thought was a fox at first.

But after taking a closer look through binoculars, the pair believe it was a cougar.

“It had a black-tipped tail and a big round head,” said Mr Griffin, of Bierley in Bradford.

“It saw us and then crouched down under the bushes. It was absolutely massive.

“I did feel a bit intimidated, I thought it could have been stalking us. I’ve been hunting down there for over 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

And another man, who did not want to be named, said he and his neighbours spotted a large black cat in fields off Claremount Road in Boothtown, Halifax.

“It was big with a long curly tail,” he said. “The tail was about the same length as it’s body, about three foot long.

“I saw it from my flat window. I panicked a bit. My neighbours said they’d seen it and called the police.”

• The Calderdale catbeast - mammal or myth? Let us know what you think: email yoursay@halifaxcourier.co.uk*

http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/local/catbeast_four_new_sightings_1_3404430

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