THE local panther plot thickens as yet another resident claims to have seen "what looked like a very large cat" prowling through his land. Clive Hunt, of Lymington Bottom Road in Medstead, explained the extraordinary sighting on Thursday last week. "While working on my vegetable plot, my wife pointed to something and exclaimed 'what is that?'. Beyond their back garden, the couple have a large area of uncultivated land, which is where they claim the cat was spotted. "Walking slowly across the area was what looked like a very large black cat. It had a cat- type head and a long black tail, curled at the end and approaching the size of a fully-grown labrador dog." Mr Hunt explained that as the animal headed toward his neighbour's field, he rushed to get his camera. However, by the time Mr Hunt returned, the beast had vanished. Mr Hunt is adamant that his eyes were not deceiving him. "Having lived in the country for over 30 years, I know the mannerisms and sizes of dogs and cats. At the time of the sighting, there were at least four fully-grown rabbits in the area for comparison." It is not the first time glimpses of large, black cats have been reported in the locality. In March, a man spotted what he believed to be a black panther roaming through the gardens of a property in Four Marks. "It was approximately four to five foot in length, not including the tail...and about two-and-a half feet high," he said at the time. The previous summer, a similar sighting was reported in New Milton. Sarette Martin, environment press officer for Hampshire County Council, said there had been "no reports" of any wild cat sightings as far as she was aware. The RSPCA echoed her sentiments. Instances of large wild cat sightings may be on the up if extremist animal group the Wild Beasts Trust have their way. The group have plans to re-introduce six lynxes, imported from France, into the wild. It has also been suggested that it are plotting to set free moose, walruses and wolves, which all formerly lived in this country. Wildlife experts have branded the scheme "ludicrous".
