Sunday 26 April 2015

Sighting near Cobham/Shorne.

24th April 2015: "I was driving down the A2 away from London and I saw the big cat like creature just after the Shorne/ Cobham turn off, this is the next one after the Inn On The Lake Hotel Shorne, Cobham, Kent. It was 6. 15pm and the light on Friday evening was good. I was in the left lane ready to go left down the Wainscott bypass. I was doing about 45 miles an hour as the traffic was heavy and drivers were cutting in at the last minute.

About a hundred yards ahead I saw the big cat streak across the lane in front of me and it then stopped to try to squeeze through a fence so I slowed the car down as I draw along side it to a better look at it. It had come out of Cobham woods which is just outside Strood.
It was Black with a very sleek coat about 80cm high, stocky like a Labrador but still graceful like a cat, long body and very long tail. I was mainly looking at the head and it had a square forehead and smaller but a square jaw. The speed at which it had sped across the dual carriage was like a streak of lighting.

If you take the Cobham, Kent turn off towards Shorne (coming away from London )and turn right towards Shorne village) then take a quick right turn down an old unused road that runs beside the A2. Down there is a disused farm and this is where it squeezed through the fence.
I have walked in the surrounding woods and hills for years but now am not sure It is safe to do so!"
The area in question has long been prime habitat for cats; and sightings date back quite a few centuries from that area. Bluewater Shopping Centre is also not far; an area also known for its sightings. Puma and lynx have also been seen in the wilds of Cobham, Shorne - heavily wooded areas where there are plenty of deer too.

No comments: