NINE SIGHTINGS of an unusually large black cat have been reported to Fife police since July.

Police wildlife liaison officer Mark Maylin told The Courier that the figure might be higher as all sightings might not have been reported to police and that reports tended to increase at this time of year.

“I have a theory that in September and October it’s because of the harvest and all the activity in the fields,” he said.

The latest sighting was outside the Homebase store in Glenrothes on Wednesday, when a retired couple said they witnessed an animal hunting in bushes.

On October 2, police received a report of a similar-looking big, black cat at the town’s Riverside Park, and another two were spotted in Glenrothes at the end of August.

In October 2005, there were eight sightings of the beast and last year there were nine between July and December.

PC Maylin said he had been tracking the sightings on a map and a definite pattern had emerged, allowing him to mark out a potential territory.

“It seems to prowl between Glenrothes and Cupar, sometimes taking in Levenmouth and Kirkcaldy,” he said.

“One of the hot spots is the railway embankment near Markinch where it’s often seen by farmers and milk boys in the mornings.

“We really don’t know if it’s one or more animals but it’s spotted so often there has to be something to it.”

It is thought the beast can live on as little as a single rabbit a day and PC Maylin said he did not think locals were in danger unless they cornered it.

“Given the amount of rabbits and pheasants about, there’s plenty of food to prevent it bothering people or cats and dogs,” he said.

“It’s not going to hunt people down and attack them. The only danger would come if it was cornered or if someone got between it and its food source.”