A "big cat-like creature" has been spotted next a stream at a beauty spot in the Midlands.
Patsy Toleman reported the sighting after taking her dog for a walk at a country park that runs next to the M5 in Gloucestershire.
The animal looked big enough to be a black Labrador, but when the dog walker looked again, they noted the creature had pointed ears like that of a cat, before it ran away.
According to a wildlife expert, the animal could have gotten bolder while in search of water during the recent summer drought.
Mrs Toleman told Gloucestershire Live how she was on a walk on Robinswood Hill at 9.45am when she came across the creature.
The land has thick undergrowth and plenty of trees and is situated near Gloucester Services' northbound premises, which is a popular spot with walkers.
Mrs Toleman said: “I was walking on the lower path and we were headed to where the stream is as my dog like to go in there for paddle.
"When I was walking I saw what I thought was a black Labrador about 120 yards away. I looked around for an owner and could not see one.
"Then I noticed the animal had pointed ears. It looked at me then was gone in a flash disappearing into the shrubs and poppies."
The mum was in for a surprise when she reported it to local big cat enthusiast Frank Tunbridge.
She said: “He quite casually told me big cats have been seen up there and how they go further looking for a water source when the weather gets hot.
"I also read that three girls came across a big cat in the same area a few years ago. I am no expert but it was not a dog I saw or a domestic cat. Its coat was a dense black colour and it was a large creature.”
Big cats - classed as an animal which is bigger than a large dog and similar in appearance to a puma or panther - have been venturing out further since Covid lockdowns, according to wildlife expert Mr Tunbridge.
He previously said that big cat sightings had been reported close to the M5 and towns and villages, with the animals scavenging for food in similar ways to urban foxes.
The 74-year-old, from Podsmead, said he believed big cats were currently travelling further for water because of the hot weather conditions.
"It seems likely that this cat was where she saw it because it came there to drink from the spring," he added.
“Now, because of drought conditions, wildlife has to adapt its behaviour to suit.
"I am receiving reports of deer drinking from garden ponds, and cattle troughs, as their usual more remote sources of water evaporate in the heat.
“This big black cat was as possibly an itinerant hybrid, now breeding true to type. A descendant of the captive pumas and leopards which were released and dumped throughout the English countryside after the 1976 dangerous animals act came into force."
