'Beast of Bont' bites leg off rare lamb

[Lionel]

The legendary Beast of Bont has struck again by attacking livestock at night, according to a Mid Wales farmer.A black, big cat-type creature savaged a lamb at a farm near Talgarreg, Lampeter, on Sunday, and was spotted again on Monday night by farmer Diane Marshall."It was dark but I saw two glowing eyes looking straight at me and knew it was not a dog," said Mrs Marshall, who lost one of her rare Torwen lambs to the mystery beast."It did not seem afraid but it did run off quickly - I am just worried it will come back as it was not concerned at all about my presence."I am now out on patrol every night, with a suitable weapon, to stop a repeat of Sunday's killing."The Welsh Assembly has played down previous reports of animals being attacked by strange predators in the area.But for the past 30 years Welsh police forces have been filing reports about sightings of cat-like creatures resembling pumas, panthers, ocelots, leopards and lynxes.The main evidence for the existence of these sharp- clawed, but mysterious stalkers has been the death toll among vulnerable herds of sheep.

Last month NFU Cymru announced its members would be questioned about any sightings through its magazine, Farming Wales.Local police said the latest incident bore all the signs of a "classic big cat attack" and Assembly wildlife officials have now removed the carcass for further analysis.

View: Full Article | Source: I C Wales