‘Jessica is convinced she captured a large black panther. Mum and dad agree that it was extremely large – but we’re not as convinced as Jessica is’
Jessica spotted what appears to be a big cat in Newquay and snapped these pictures on New Year’s Eve using her new camera she got for Christmas.(Image: Jessica Bowen)
A suspected ‘big cat’ was spotted on the prowl in Cornwall on New Year’s Eve – and was captured on camera by a nine-year-old out walking with her parents.
David Bowen, 46-year-old dad of Jessica, said they had all gone for a walk with their two pet dogs on the afternoon of December 31, walking behind Nansledan at Newquay, when she spotted a creature in a field, roughly 150 metres from the footpath they were on.
He told CornwallLive: “We’ve seen the stories [about big cats] before.
“It looked like a panther. The strange thing with this cat was for a moment we thought it was just a small cat, but as we continued to watch, we realised it was much bigger. It had this sleek kind of manner.
“It was quite intriguing to watch. I’m quite sceptical about the stories of big cats, but I do now have some doubt.”
Nine-year-old Jessica spotted what appears to be a big cat in Newquay and snapped these pictures on New Year’s Eve using her new camera she got from Father Christmas. (Image: Jessica Bowen)
David said Jessica was fascinated and, having brought her Christmas present from Santa along – a Fuji Finepix HS20 with 720mm lens – she snapped a few pictures before the creature slunk away into undergrowth.
The family live in St Columb Major, but David said Jessica went to school in Nansledan hence why they had decided to park up their vehicle and take the dogs for a walk in the area – and to try out Jessica’s new camera.
However, they did not expect to encounter something so remarkable.
David said: “She was learning to use her present and she managed to snap a few pictures as we watched it for five or six minutes. We could see it prowling the hedgerow before disappearing as the light faded.
Nine-year-old Jessica spotted what appears to be a big cat in Newquay and snapped these pictures on New Year’s Eve using her new camera she got from Father Christmas. (Image: Jessica Bowen)
“The cat was oblivious to us and the dogs were oblivious to the cat – but we were able to take a lot of time to watch it. It disappeared for a short while then we saw it again further away in the distance before it went out of view.
“Jessica is convinced she has captured photos of a large black panther. Mum and dad agree that it was extremely large – but we’re not nearly as convinced as Jessica is.”
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