FEARS that a big cat could be on the prowl have been sparked following a sighting on the outskirts of Okehampton. The incident occured last Friday afternoon, when children were enjoying playing on wooded open ground near Wonnacotts Road. Young Sarah Neville, 9, was in the area with her friend Alex Arthurs, 8, when they spotted the mystery animal. Sarah?s mother, Heather Kelly, said: ?They heard a rustle which made Sarah jump. She said she heard a growl and she ran away, but when she came back a few minutes later she saw it run across the footpath.? Heather said on hearing about the incident, her older daughter Jess showed Sarah different types of big cats on the internet. ?She said it was definitely like a puma but that it was black,? said Heather. ?The girls have these big stuffed toys they got for presents and they say it?s like them. We used to have a German Shepherd and Sarah said it was that size, black, with a really long, slim tail.? Heather said nine-year-old Sarah did not watch a lot of television news and did not think it was the type of story her daughter would make up. ?We don?t really know what to think but I think it?s a bit of a strange story for a nine-year-old to invent. I said ?You?re not telling porkies are you?? but she?s absolutely convinced she?s seen it,? said Heather. ?I had a look round the area last night but I couldn?t see anything and the ground is really dry at the moment, so you can?t see any prints. Sarah herself insists the animal was far too large to be a domestic cat. ?It definitely wasn?t a cat or a dog. It had really pricked ears, not round, and a very long tail and it was thin. It wasn?t fluffy, it was smooth,? said Sarah, who admitted to be frightened by the incident. Eight-year-old Alex was out playing with Sarah when they saw the mystery animal. He said: ?I got my finger stuck on a thorn. I was petrified and I rode away on my BMX.? The family say the area backing on to where the children were playing is rural and there would be ample space for a such an animal to move through without being seen. A police spokesman said there had been no reported sightings of big cats in the Okehampton area ? though there was one on Monday in the southern area of Dartmoor. The spokesman said: ?We treat all sightings on their own merit and if the circumstances warrant it at the time they would be investigated, however, the nature of these sightings can make enquiries very difficult.? Nick Payne, environment director at West Devon Borough Council, said: ?Under the Dangerous Animals Act we have a responsibility for registering animals like a puma. We have never registered an animal of this type in West Devon, so it wouldn?t be a local escapee.? According to a national survey of big cats carried out by the British Big Cats Society, there were almost 150 sightings in the county between April 2004 and July 2005 ? more than any other area of Britain. Plymouth-based author Chris Moiser, who has published several books on big cat sightings in the South West, said from the description, the animal could have been either a black leopard or a lynx. He said: ?Although on paper these animals are dangerous, the evidence in the UK is that they are not unless cornered.? Mr Moiser said it was ?perfectly feasible? for such an animal to venture into populated areas to scavenge for food. ?There is evidence in the UK that they have taken stuff from bins,? he said. A spokesman for Defra advised any member of the public to alert police if they think they have spotted a big cat.
