Mystery surrounds a macabre discovery made by a west Fife dog walker.
Susan David from Dunfermline was horrified to spot a bleached carcass of what looks like a horse – halfway up a tree.
“It was horrible, really horrible,” she said.
Ms David was out walking her dog near Kingseat when she made the grim find on a popular dog walking route near the former mining village of Lassodie.
“You can walk straight up to where the old pit used to be.
“A lot of dog walkers walk up there. I was just on the path walking towards the old pit when I saw it – it was awful.
“I was just glad there wasn’t any kids with me. You could still see where its eyes were.”
While animal bones are a common sight in rural communities, what is perplexing in this case is the location of the bones, including a skull, spine and ribs.
“It was very weird. I just thought how could it get up there?
“It could have been kids being kids, but who would want to lift a carcass like that and put it up a tree?
“I could not have reached up and put it there and if it was kids they would have had to climb the tree and hoist it up and put it in position.
“It would have taken a lot of effort, and why would you do that?”
Some suggestions range from a prank by locals to conspiracy theorists wondering if the remains are the work of one of the mythological big beasts allegedly roaming the Fife countryside.
There have been several “sightings” of large cats over the years, most famously the Beast of Blairadam, which is very close to the site.
Ms David said her husband had had advice from wildlife experts who believe that the carcass is that of a horse.
“The mandible is broken, but it has a big bottom jaw,” she said.
Fife Council officers dealt with the grisly scene, and said they were certain it was not a horse and more likely a sheep.
Area officer Colin Davidson said: “We had a team out there today (Friday) and have removed the remains.”
