Puma Sighting in South Devon
On the evening of the 30th of April 2020 I was walking with my dog up a road on the edge of woodland in South Devon. Suddenly my dog started pulling on the lead as we got to a gate leading to the woods. I knew immediately that he was onto something, then I heard what he must have heard! What was it? It was the high-pitched scream of a puma, echoing from the woods nearby in the still night air! In all, I must have heard up to 30 such noises and the sound was crystal clear! After this, it fell silent. I walked with my dog through the gate and stood on the grass beyond and moments later I saw something! In the fading light I could see that it was a powerfully-built tan-coloured animal and it was heading with purpose down a track in front of us about 70 feet away! My dog's view of it was obscured by a mound, so he did not react. At that point I decided to head quickly back to the gate with my dog, as I did not have a torch or a strong stick with me!
We stood there for a few minutes and all was quiet. After a short while we headed back and stood motionless for several more minutes but whatever I had seen had gone, probably down a side path into the undergrowth to follow other scents! What had I seen? It was the very puma that we had just heard!
We stood there for a few minutes and all was quiet. After a short while we headed back and stood motionless for several more minutes but whatever I had seen had gone, probably down a side path into the undergrowth to follow other scents! What had I seen? It was the very puma that we had just heard!
Puma scat in a South Devon wood. Copyright Alex Bowler 2020
Puma scat in a South Devon wood. Copyright Alex Bowler 2020.
Two fresh puma scats I photographed very nearby in 2020. Big cat scats have a distinctive and rather subtle musk smell, and contain prey hairs , especially deer hairs and can also contain the cat's own grooming hairs. (I have many more similar photos.)
