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Couple spot puma-like animal
9:00am Thursday 5th July 2007
Comments (7)THE mysterious Beast of Bucks has been spotted again by a couple near Hazlemere.
A large cat-like animal was seen by Suzanne Young, 19, of Quarrendon Road, Amersham, and her partner Matthew Tucker, 19, of Orchard Lane, Amersham, as they were driving back along Amersham Road from a night out in High Wycombe.
"When we saw it in the light we realised it was far too big to be a fox, or even a dog."
Suzanne Young
Suzanne, a secretary for Balfour Beatty in Manchester, said: "All of a sudden a very big cat trotted out in front of our car from one side of the road. We'd slowed down for a bend and saw a black blob on one side of the road. At first we thought it was a fox until our headlamps hit it. Once this happened it sprinted the rest of the way to the other side of the road. When we saw it in the light we realised it was far too big to be a fox, or even a dog. We weren't drunk as we were driving."
The couple went back to the scene of their sighting, just before the turning for Gravelly Way, on Sunday, and found some large paw prints in Common Wood, near Tylers Green.
"It was more for the sake of our sanity than anything else," Suzanne added.
Suzanne told the South Bucks Star that the creature she saw was about 3ft to 4ft tall, jet black, with a long tail.
She believes it to be the infamous "Beast of Bucks" although added that other people's accounts of it have sometimes differed.
She said: "A few older people I know have claimed to have seen it, like my grandad.
"This was definitely more like a puma than a panther."
Six years ago animal specialist Trevor Smith was called to help police after they took plaster casts of paw prints found on Wycombe Heights Golf Course, in Rayners Avenue, Loudwater. Experts confirmed that the tracks belonged to a young puma.
In February last year café owner Heather Brown told the Star how she spotted the giant feline while walking in the Chequers estate, near Princes Risborough. And a dog walker said he saw it on The Rye, High Wycombe, earlier this year.
Zoologists believe many exotic cats were released into the wild when the Dangerous Wild Animals Act was passed in 1976 and owners could no longer keep them as pets.
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slacker, Flackwell says...
10:14am Thu 5 Jul 07
sal reed, says...
10:40am Thu 5 Jul 07
Newsworthy?, Wycombe says...
10:49am Thu 5 Jul 07
Specialdiver, moon says...
11:32am Thu 5 Jul 07
a Puma is native to north america and is also known as a mountain lion or a cougar. They are exceptional athletes and can jump the height of a 2 story building from standing.
a panther is also known as a jaguar and they are native to south america. they look like a leopard on steroids and are they only large cat to kill it's prey by piercing it's victims skull with its canienes (known as the death bite).
if a puma were to attack you then you have a chance of survival - if however you were attacked by a jaguar/panther you would more than likely end up cat food.
as for the sceptics:
golden eagles, fish eagles, paraqueetes
these are a few animals that were never native to the uk but now thrive here. as such there is no reason to think large cats would not be able to survive here.
by the way - sal reed stinks of poo
erm, ermsville says...
12:58pm Thu 5 Jul 07
Suzanne told the South Bucks Star that the creature she saw was about 3ft to 4ft tall, jet black, with a long tail.
sounds like my 4th wife, if it had big claws then it was definately her!
kerlmann, says...
3:08pm Fri 6 Jul 07
Sighting: Suzanne Young and Matthew Tucker
Puma tracks? Paw print in the wood
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Bernard, HW says...
9:56am Thu 5 Jul 07
I was always under the impression that panther was another name for a puma?
I have looked it up and it does suggest they are the same.
Irrespective, it is fairly common knowledge that throughout the country there are a number of big cats that were released/escaped from parks or private collectors. Some were released to the wild after the dangerous animals act in the 90's became law, so is it that impossible ?
The answer is no. A cat is designed as a stalking hunter, you are not supposed to see it until it is too late. These larger cats have worked outover time that attacking humans is not a good idea, so they stick to livestock and cattle. As for the black puma or Beast of Bucks, it figures it is only seen at night. They are a genetic mishap, in much the same way as an albino dog is in the wild, and subsequently is only going to hunt at night and will evolve into a nocturnal beast.
As long as they keep themselves to themselves i say let them be.