A councillor says he could be the latest person to have witnessed a big cat roaming in Angus.
Donald Morrison was on his way into Montreathmont Forest, between his home near Letham and Brechin, when a black creature he is sure was a big cat crossed his path around 10am on Sunday.
Mr Morrison was on his way to walk black labradors Cuillan and Holly on a regular route in the sprawling woodlands when the encounter took place.
“We had just passed Red Roofs, just off the Forfar to Montrose road, and were heading into Montreathmont when it ran across the road in front of us,” said the Arbroath East and Lunan SNP councillor.
“I’ve seen very big male tom cats and I know the size of a fox having also seen them around the wood but this was just a wee bit smaller than my lab,” said Mr Morrison.
“When I first caught a glimpse of it, I thought it might have been another black lab. But it had a curled-down tail and definitely looked like a big cat.
“Maybe it could have been a big wildcat but I was only about 100 yards away and close enough to know that it was something pretty sizeable.
“I reckon it was bigger than a wildcat and if someone’s got a domestic cat that size then it must be a super-breed.
“You often see deer running across the road but it wasn’t chasing anything it just ran over and disappeared into the woods.”
Reports of Angus big cats have been made in the past, including some in the Montrose and Brechin areas, and Mr Morrison believes the scale of the Montreathmont Forest would give the animals plenty of cover.
“It’s coming to autumn so it’s perfectly possible that they could be moving around,” he added.
A couple of years ago another Angus man reported a big cat at Rossie Braes, several miles east of Montreathmont, part of a growing catalogue of sightings.
Many of those have taken place at night but Mr Morrison said the fine late summer morning had given him a clear view of the animal.
“Holly will investigate things but I doubt she would have gone after that,” he added.