A PONTGARREG hunter believes a large, black, puma-like animal has been feeding in a field at the back of his house.

Robert Cashman, a veteran outdoorsman and tracker, has been leaving out roadkill for the beast which he believes is the same animal he glimpsed whilst walking through a wooded valley along the banks of the River Soden near Cwmtydu three months go.

“I went out with a hunting light one night and spotted it at a range of about 60 metres,” he told the Cambrian News. “I could clearly see its green eyes and the shape of its body.

“Unfortunately the grass it was walking through was so thick it didn’t leave any tracks.

“But since then I’ve been leaving out road kill – dead badgers, foxes and the occasional rabbit – which is always gone the next morning.

“A big dog wouldn’t do that; those carcases have been picked up, carried to a safe place and eaten.

“Compared to some of the cats people have reported this is a really big one; its belly is virtually touching the ground.

“There is a big, black Great Dane around here which I suppose some people could confuse for a big cat. But I’ve been a hunting man for 23 years and I know the difference between a Great Dane and a black panther.”

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