Bishops Lydeard - 2008
Whilst driving down the A358 in the direction of Taunton and approaching the village of Bishops Lydeard, near the Quantock Hills, I had my second sighting of a big cat! There it was, walking on the embankment on the left hand side of the road and this time it was much smaller than 'The Beast Of Exmoor' yet much larger than the largest domestic cat. It was stocky and muscular and its long black tail was clear to see! This time, I had seen a juvenile black panther!
When I arrived at our home in Bishops Lydeard the first thing I told my wife as I walked through the door was that I had just seen another big cat!
Later on that same day a friend's son called at our home to tell us that a large black cat had leaped out of the undergrowth at him as he walked to the scout hall in the woods on the edge of Bishops Lydeard and that in desperation he had lashed out at it and actually struck it with a sturdy stick he was carrying, causing it to run back into the undergrowth!
It just had to be the same big cat! His description of it matched with mine and it was in the same vicinity as the one I had seen! Bishops Lydeard had just been visited by an aggressive and mysterious black cat and I thank God for protecting our friend's son from it. I wonder if it ever returned?
N.B. It's possible and highly likely that this is the same black panther that was spotted at Crowcombe Park Gate on the Quantocks in 2017!
When I arrived at our home in Bishops Lydeard the first thing I told my wife as I walked through the door was that I had just seen another big cat!
Later on that same day a friend's son called at our home to tell us that a large black cat had leaped out of the undergrowth at him as he walked to the scout hall in the woods on the edge of Bishops Lydeard and that in desperation he had lashed out at it and actually struck it with a sturdy stick he was carrying, causing it to run back into the undergrowth!
It just had to be the same big cat! His description of it matched with mine and it was in the same vicinity as the one I had seen! Bishops Lydeard had just been visited by an aggressive and mysterious black cat and I thank God for protecting our friend's son from it. I wonder if it ever returned?
N.B. It's possible and highly likely that this is the same black panther that was spotted at Crowcombe Park Gate on the Quantocks in 2017!
