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Creatures, Myths & Legends

Giant paw prints found in Edinburgh snow

By T.K. Randall
January 14, 2011 · Comment icon

10 comments

Image Credit: Ron Singer

Residents of Newhaven in Edinburgh believe a big cat might be on the prowl.

81 year old Nora Robertson found the paw prints in the snow while walking her dog, residents believe that a big cat such as a puma or a lynx might be visiting the city in search of food. Big cat experts say that sightings in the wider Lothian area are fairly common. The presence of big cats in the UK is "unlikely but not impossible," according to George Redpath, a member of Big Cats Scotland. There have been several other sightings in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, and another Edinburgh resident, Maureen Porteous, claims to have seen a big cat in her garden last summer.

They are shadowy creatures who create claws for concern for farmers across the UK. But now Edinburgh might have its own big cat on the prowl. Residents of Newhaven have been left feline distinctly uncomfortable after the discovery of huge paw prints in the snow

Source: Edinburgh Evening News | Comments (10)

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Recent comments on this story

#1 Posted by Graveyard Hound 14 years ago

...and why not? A classy town like her ought to have loads of "phantom cats". Hopefully it or they would keep the "dogs" like I see in my trips up there off the streets after nightfall.

#2 Posted by drew123 14 years ago

If the British Isle ever had big cats native to it, it's been a long, long, time. So if there was one on the prowl that would have to mean either an escaped zoo animal or an escaped or abandoned exoctic pet. Paw prints in the snow mean little. Too much chance of deformity and exageration due to melting so chances are it's just a house cat or well, anything on four legs. If it were somewhere else, like say, in one of the areas of the states where big cats used to be prevalent but were wiped out early last century or something, it would be an easier pill to swallow.

#3 Posted by Wearer of Hats 14 years ago

#4 Posted by Empty Skies 14 years ago

It seems off that the prints are single file and that there is no paw pad in the prints. Kind of looks like someone was just playing in the snow.

#5 Posted by Humblemun 14 years ago

Thanks for the article Still Waters. The local councils are going to need a big-cat-catching service in the near future unless I'm very much mistaken.

#6 Posted by mutationman 14 years ago

when snow melts, it has a habit of making small footprints larger, so a small footprint becomes a big one after a bit of a thaw. It could be as simple as someone's house cat out for a stroll followed by a thaw. But if it was because of the snow melting, then the spaces between the toes would not be so visible, melting doesnt cause the toe marks to move away from eachother, they would melt them together. Anyway, i dont believe these are real, as Empty Skies say, you cant see the paw pads, so someone probably just made it with his/her fingers.

#7 Posted by DKST 14 years ago

Single file and padless, I say hoax. However I do believe there are big cats in the UK.

#8 Posted by DieChecker 14 years ago

These look fake to me too. I'd expect to see at least some indent from the pads. This looks like someone walked down the sidewalk putting their fingers into the snow with every step.

#9 Posted by oly 14 years ago

#10 Posted by BranchMajor 14 years ago

I've seen a 1 inch claw, freshly ripped off in the middle of Cheltenham (stupid me didn't think to take it!), & a few weeks ago in the snow saw what looked like a dark lynx on rodborough common, glos, from about 100m. One of my daughters claims to have seen a black cat the size of a labrador, & the other claims to have seen cat footprints the size of a cows hoofs! That area of Gloucestershire has quite a lot of reported sightings, some going back 20 odd years. Around Inchbrook and Nailsworth there have been sightings too.

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