On the evening of the 30th of April 2020 I was walking with my dog on the edge of woodland in Devon. Suddenly my dog started pulling on the lead. I knew immediately that he was onto something then I heard what he must have heard! What was it? It was the growl of a puma, echoing from the woods nearby in the still night air! In all, I must have heard up to 30 'grunty ' snarls and the sound was crystal clear! After this it fell silent 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 a safer area 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!
Two big cat scats I photographed in Devon. 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.)
(Scat photos copyright owned by Alex Bowler)
(Scat photos copyright owned by Alex Bowler)