THE NOTORIOUS Beast of Balbirnie is more likely to be a big dog than a big cat, according to a local man.

Mark Proctor of Markinch is convinced that 10 cm by 9 cm paw prints discovered in Balbirnie Woods in October were made by his sister’s St Bernard and not, as police believe, a large cat-like creature.

Fife Constabulary wildlife and environmental crime officer Constable Mark Maylin said at the time the prints were most likely to belong to a lynx or a puma and claimed there could be half a dozen in Fife.

A cast of one print was handed to a zoologist to determine the species. No results have ever been announced.

However Mr Proctor told The Courier yesterday that the discovery in the woods near Markinch coincided with a visit to the area by his sister Lisa Ford, her husband Callum and their huge dog Bernard.

After measuring and photographing the dog’s paws and comparing them with photos of the cast, the family concluded Bernard is the Beast of Balbirnie.

Mark was abroad when the story broke, but recently recalled hearing about it while walking his own dog Murphy in the woods.

“It suddenly got really dark about half way round, leaving us to walk the rest of the forest trail in the pitch black,” he said. “It was then I remembered about the Balbirnie Beast story.

“My first thought was that Lisa and Callum had been to visit my parents in Markinch around the time the paw prints were discovered. They live in Thatcham so they only come up occasionally, but when they do they bring their dog. He’s massive, even for a St Bernard.”

Mark added, “Lisa and Callum had definitely taken him for loads of walks up Balbirnie when they were visiting. In the interests of me feeling safe to take the dog for walks around Balbirnie in the dark again, I promised myself I’d investigate a bit when they came up for Christmas.”

The couple arrived last week with Bernard and Mark measured his paw. It was the same size as the cast taken by police.

Mark said, “I opened Photoshop (on the computer), stuck the paw pic on top of the cast and it fits perfectly. Lisa thinks it’s an exact match—and she has a degree in biology and works as a park ranger.”

He added, “It’s Bernard’s paw print. He is the Beast of Balbirnie, though he’s actually very friendly and spends most of the time sleeping and blocking doorways. I hereby declare Balbirnie Park is safe.”

Constable Maylin was not available yesterday but readers can make up their own minds by logging on to www.GlenrothesSpoon. com where Mark has posted his findings.