The Beast of Harrowbarrow: Fears a ‘PANTHER’ is stalking small Cornish village after five cats vanish in a week and RSPCA confirms paw-prints found nearby are ‘the pads of a large cat’

• James Stephenson’s Labrador attacked and left bleeding in the garden of his home in Harrowbarrow, Cornwall, on Thursday
• Devon and Cornwall Police took plaster casts of its prints and RSPCA confirmed they were from a large cat
• Mr Stephenson, 23, previously seen cat carrying something ‘the size of a lamb’

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A large panther-like big cat is stalking a small Cornwall village where several pets have disappeared, police and the RSPCA have confirmed.

Fears were raised for the safety of children and animals after five cats went missing in a week – and a dog was attacked by a ‘panther or puma’.

Forensic experts were called to the village of Harrowbarrow, near Callington in Cornwall, and took a plaster cast of a paw print.

A large panther-like big cat is thought to be stalking the small Cornwall village of Harrowbarrow. Prints of the animal were left in the garden of James Stephenson, 23, and later examined by the RSPCA who confirmed they were from a ‘large cat’ 

Officials have confirmed the prints – measuring almost five inches – are that of a big cat and police say ‘something has been here which should not be’.

Police and the RSPCA have confirmed they have attended the scene and one local farmer has also apparently discovered its ‘den’ on his land.

Big cat sightings are not unheard of in Britain and a large cat with leopard-like spots was seen last month in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

In the same county in 2017, a taxi driver filmed a huge cat running across a road in what was just one of five sightings in the UK that year.   

In this most recent sighting, local James Stephenson raised the alarm after his dog was left bleeding from its injuries and with claw marks on its shoulder.

Mr Stephenson, 23, said there had been talk of the beast in Harrowbarrow for a few weeks.

He then spotted it and it attacked his Labrador, Marley, two days before the terrifying moment he came face to face with it himself.

Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police took plaster casts of the prints after Mr Stephenson raised the alarm because his dog had been attacked

Mr Stephenson, who lives with his mother Tricia in the village said he was in his garden with Marley and his collie puppy Maisy when the beast struck on Thursday.

He said: ‘Over the last couple of weeks we have seen this large black cat walking down the back wall of the field at the back of our garden.

‘It’s on a stone wall, often carrying something the size of a lamb. Whatever it’s been carrying is about a foot off the ground so it’s very big.

‘We’ve not paid it much attention because they normally shy away from humans.

‘We’re not sure whether it’s a puma or a panther but it’s been confirmed that it’s a big cat.

‘We’re under the impression that it’s a puma. We went round to warn the neighbours to keep any dogs in and safe. They think it’s a panther.

‘They normally only come out at night to not blow their cover but this one is out any time of day because it has adapted to its surroundings.

Mr Stephenson’s Labrador Marley was attacked in his garden on Thursday and left covered in blood with a deep gash on his front left leg and one between his toes

‘It got our attention most when we were out in the garden last Thursday night.

‘Marley is a rescue dog so he now has almost an acre of garden when, before, he lived in a confined space. He loves his garden.

‘He walks around to make sure it’s safe and secure every night. It’s his routine to make sure him and his family are safe.

‘He was walking the far end of the garden and I was about 20 feet from him and he was suddenly taken down to the floor as if his legs had given way from underneath him; like he was pulled down.

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‘He’s a very agile dog; very careful. I thought he tripped on something and hurt himself. I called him back and he was already beside me with his tail between his legs in fear.

‘He was covered in blood. He had a big deep gash on his front left leg and one between his toes.

‘On his left shoulder was a big black claw mark, as if a muddy claw had scraped down the side of him.

‘He’s still not interested in going out in the garden at night. He loves his garden and now can’t bear it.

Mr Stephenson’s garden, in Harrowbarrow, where he has spotted a large black cat in recent weeks

‘The RSPCA said it had probably already caught something and was eating it in our garden and that’s why it didn’t take Marley; it was just protecting its food when it took him down.’

He said that when his mum first saw it she called the police who advised her to contact the RSPCA as it wasn’t a police matter.

But when the family contacted the RSPCA after Marley was attacked, officers from Devon and Cornwall Police arrived and confirmed ‘something has been here which should not be’.

The 23-year-old said they sent scenes of crime officers – ‘Cornwall’s equivalent of TV’s CSI’ – who took plaster casts of paw prints from the garden which were sent to experts for analysis.

James Stephenson, pictured,  said he had noticed ‘large footprints’ in the past few nights 

They have since confirmed that they were the tracks of a large cat.

Then came a more frightening encounter with the animal in person in his own garden.

Mr Stephenson, an engineer, said: ‘For the past few nights we’ve noticed large footprints down the end of the garden. The animals don’t want to go out.

‘On Saturday night I went out to the garden with the dogs. I have a big torch and we have had to resort to putting big floodlights up to scare it off.

‘I saw two large green eyes reflecting in the torch light at the bottom of the garden. You’re told to make yourself appear big and aggressive and scare it off.

‘I shouted to it and was waving my arms around and it actually started to run towards me. That’s very unusual for a big cat so it’s obviously adapting to its environment.

‘They say you should never turn away or turn your back on a large cat and should never approach it.

‘I was luckily close enough to the door to get back inside when it was coming at me and then didn’t see it again. The dogs were still being strange.

‘It’s not afraid of humans like they normally are. There was a fair distance between is and it should have turned and ran away but it didn’t.

‘It was very scary.

‘We have automatic lights on the front of the house and then noticed them go on. The dogs were still unsettled.’

Now he is appealing for locals to keep their pets and children safe and see if they have any CCTV footage of the animal.

He said: ‘We were told by the police that to take it any further we need to have it on video and a few other reports.

Big cat terrain: Mr Stephenson is hoping that a zoo or sanctuary will find a more suitable home for the cat so that it is no longer roaming the fields near Harrowbarrow

‘It’s a danger to children. It will take a dog. So far I’ve heard about four or five cats in Harrowbarrow that have gone in the past week.

‘One neighbour said there used to be a large amount of deer in the field and there hasn’t been any for four or five months.

‘My mum’s concerned for the dogs’ safety. One of us used to take them out on our own and let them run around. It’s got to the point where we have to take both on leads with at least two people at a time.

‘It’s a great concern. None of us are resting properly at night.

‘We want to know if anyone has a video camera to catch it on and we want to raise the issue of safety for pets and especially for children. Children are a light snack for something of that size.

‘These cats can weigh up to 180 kilos, which is more than my dad, and he’s a big ex rugby player. If one of them finds it can take something down, it will try again.

‘It’s not advised to go out looking for it or approach it.

‘It’s also a big concern because Cornwall thrives on farming and it could start on cattle or sheep.’

He added that a local farmer has found a pile of wood chippings and logs and other items which indicates the site where the animal has set up a nest or den in an area of undisturbed woodland.

James added: ‘I have made contact with several cat sanctuaries and zoos to see if any of them would be interested in taking it to one of the conservation sites where the beautiful animal can be rehabilitated into a safe environment where it can be cared for correctly in an appropriate fashion.’

The places he has contacted told him they did not have the space or resources to take the animal on.

A police spokesperson said: ‘We were called on the morning of Friday 29 March by a resident of a property in near Harrowbarrow who claimed that panther had been in their garden and attacked their dog the night prior, and later seen with another animal in its mouth.

‘An officer attended the property and located the footprints in the garden. 

‘We called the RSPCA for advice and took a cast of the print which they confirmed was the pad of a large cat.

‘Over the years, there have been a number of similar reports across Devon and Cornwall.

‘There is no evidence that such animals represent a danger to humans. It is highly likely that they would avoid human contact and only represent a danger if trapped.

‘If any animal is sighted it should not be approached,’ they added. 

An RSPCA spokesman said: ‘Our officer attended after reports that a Labrador had been scratched by a large, black cat.

‘Thankfully, the dog is fine although he has scratch marks, and the owner is taking precautions to keep an eye on the dog in case of further sightings.

‘We will continue to monitor the situation.’

Mr Stephenson also raised the idea that the beast could be linked to the well-documented alleged release of at least three pumas into the wild by Mary Chipperfield in the 1970s.

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