2026-05-22 11:01:42
A dog walker was left terrified after spotting what appeared to be a wild panther at a beauty spot in Wales last week.
The man – named only as Shaun – claims to have encountered the huge black beast while he was out walking his dog close to the entrance of the Dagger Trail at Pen y Pigyn in Corwen at around 5:45am on Friday (15.05.26).
In a report filed to Puma Watch – an organisation that logs sightings of big cats around Wales – Shaun explained: “I was going for my morning walk with my dog up Pen y Pigyn, I had just let my little dog off her lead just before the entrance to the Dagger Trail when my dog went running in trees barking.
“I looked back and at first thought she was chasing a Labrador-size dog when I clocked its movement and hind legs and tail, it was a black panther. My dog never barks, today was the first time she has ran at something barking, she lives with a cat and has no problems with them when out.”
He added: “The panther ran half up a tree clinging on, I seen its full size and how long and thick its tail was. I shouted my dog back and it then jumped down and walked, not ran, up into the trees. I’ve never seen a cat so big. I know what I seen.
“I am big into nature, knowing its movement, its size, shape, everything was a panther. I was always an open sceptic until today but I fully believe in other sightings now.”
Shaun went on to insist he tried to capture a video of the big cat on his phone but he just “wasn’t quick enough”.
Paul Macdonald, who founded the Scottish Big Cat Research Team in 2017 to investigate sightings, previously told the BBC the rumours of big cats on the loose in the UK can be traced back many decades.
He explained a high point came in the mid-1970s following the introduction of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act which banned anyone from owning big cats without a proper licence and prompted many owners to release their animals to prevent them from being euthanised.
Paul told the outlet: “Some of the older origin stories go back to 19th Century, relating to private menageries and collections of exotic species. That never fully went away when it came to large estates and those that had the money and means.
“But there was a flashpoint for this activity throughout the whole UK, in 1976, and that was the introduction of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act …
“The act only offered owners two options. Either buy the licence and then have your animal kept within a minimum size enclosure, and obviously there’s significant cost with that.
“Or bring your animal in and have it put down. So many took a third option of taking them somewhere green enough and releasing them.”
Visit Bang Bizarre (main website)
