Hunters spot 'puma' in East Yorkshire's Nut Wood
THE sight of a pair of yellow glistening eyes staring back at you in the dark would startle any passer-by.
Add to that the eerie atmosphere of dense woodland at night and it is enough to make the hairs on your neck stand on end.
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Phil Miles and Jordan Green spotted a big black cat, believed to be a puma
But, that is what greeted two men who were out on a shooting trip in an East Yorkshire wood.
Nut Wood, opposite Raywell Hall, is normally a flush with rabbits and other wildlife when darkness falls and is a popular spot for experienced shooters.
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So, the fact that not one rabbit could be seen in the area one particular evening came as a surprise to Phil Miles and his friend Jordan Green.
A local farmer, who knew the men, had warned them of the possibility of a wild cat hunting in the woods during the night, following recent reported sightings.
Mr Miles said: "We were told by a farmer. We knew there had been some sightings of a large cat in the area but we never thought we would encounter it."
The pair first saw the cat, which is believed to be a puma, standing about 30ft in front of them, on a path leading through the wood.
Mr Miles, of east Hull, said: "We have been shooting in the woods a number of times and there are usually lots of rabbits in and around the wood but, on this occasion, we didn't see one.
"We began walking towards where we normally shoot from when we heard a snarling noise, like a cat hissing at you.
"I shone my light and I could see a pair of eyes looking back at me but I couldn't make out what it was."
Mr Green then used his rifle sight to get a closer look at the animal.
"We were both shocked when we saw the size of the cat," said the 28-year-old.
"It was about the size of a domestic dog, like a Labrador or Alsatian.
"We didn't know what to do and thought about shooting close to where it stood to try to scare it off but we didn't want to aggravate it.
"Luckily, there was a privet hedge and some other bushes between us and the cat, so it couldn't get directly to us."
The cat then darted behind more bushes and out of sight.
Mr Miles and Mr Green then set off walking down a path towards the edge of the wood to pack their rifles away.
As they did, they heard a loud noise that caught their attention once more.
Mr Miles said: "There was a really loud squealing noise, the kind that foxes make when they are shot or injured.
"We both looked over towards a nearby field and saw the same cat running back into the trees with a fox in its mouth."
Mr Miles reported the sighting to police on Saturday, shortly before 10pm.
A number of calls were made to the police with similar sightings that night and they are now investigating.
Police and local farmers are urging people to be vigilant when walking through the woods and report any further sightings of the animal immediately.
Comments
by piddsta
Friday, September 07 2012, 9:53AM
“Cue Duelling Banjos.”
by takeitinmy
Friday, September 07 2012, 9:17AM
“It was just a man in a suit.....RAWR !”
by Redjin
Friday, September 07 2012, 5:29AM
“'Green Miles' would be the title of this really **** new series for ITV. Brought to you by the same droll idiots that brought you Jonathan Creek.... to fall asleep to on a Sunday evening.
I really do hope they are stoners for the sake of humanity.
Loving that the torch is switched on during daylight and the suspicion on their faces. That will keep me chuckling for hours.”
by DwaynneCarr
Wednesday, September 05 2012, 8:20PM
“looks like our brave big game hunters have been smoking too much weed, and i suspect this would have caused problems with their eye sight.”
by Strangley
Wednesday, September 05 2012, 8:07PM
“Two *********s & a puma in Nut Wood? Rupert is really going to be pi$$ed off when he finds out”
by bt13jz
Wednesday, September 05 2012, 7:48PM
“They saw Puma and were visibly shocked ... they only like burberry .... chavs with guns”
by wowwo
Wednesday, September 05 2012, 5:50PM
“Yellow eyes, snarling noises, pitch black?. Bet when they got home, their undies was straight in the washer. No doubt they saw something, and give them credit for not shooting it just for the sake of it. They had this "cat" in their sights and it would have been so easy to squeeze the trigger. They didnt, instead they reported it to the police, so why the nasty remarks?.”
by hcfchcfc08
Wednesday, September 05 2012, 5:29PM
“And when it went meeeeeeooooooowwwwwwwww they legged it.”
by AlfBates
Wednesday, September 05 2012, 5:14PM
“I once saw something similar on my allotment one night. I could hear it scurrying around in the leeks and I could only see the glow of its eyes in my torchlight. Turned out to be a big cat. It was probably somebody's pet at one point but it had decided to live on the allotments. We get a lot of birds on the allotments and this beggar had probably eaten a few too many, hence it being a "big cat". Well I befirended him and named him Timmy and took him home with me. Being so fat he was a lazy sod but by heck he was good at catching mice. I miss Timmy.”
by PrivateHell
Wednesday, September 05 2012, 5:11PM
“Mr Miles said: "There was a really loud squealing noise, the kind that foxes make when they are shot or injured.
And presumably you know what a fox sounds like when it`s shot or injured, because you shoot foxes and injure them. How dispicable you are.”