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Loch Ness mogster on the loose | The Sun |Home Scotland|Scottish News
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage...
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Loch Ness mogster
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On the loose ... big cat at Loch Ness
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SPOOKED Loch Ness locals are being terrorised by a new monster - a giant cat that's been savaging farm animals and pets.
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People living on the banks of the famed tourist haunt have urged police to hunt down the black beast amid fears it could attack and even KILL a child.
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The big cat has been spotted prowling hillsides and around homes - and is thought to be behind maulings of at least one dog and a lamb.
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Katrina Wallace, 38, said she is too afraid to let her three young kids outside at night after hubby Jim glimpsed the animal just outside their home.
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She has taken photos of the body of a badly mauled lamb, which had a large puncture wound on the back of its neck.
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And one of the family's dogs had to be rushed to the vet after being attacked in their garden.
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Katrina said: "The top part of its leg was grazed and the vet said it could only get an injury like that if it had been dragged."
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She also took snaps of mystery pawprints in the snow.
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Katrina added: "A friend of ours who does a lot of shooting and tracks animals confirmed they are cat prints and a big one at that."
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As fears grew last night Aird and Loch Ness councillor Margaret Davidson said: "I believe this is a public safety issue.
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"The police need to take this seriously and the animal or animals need to be captured."
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But a Northern Constabulary spokesman insisted officers had not dismissed the reports out of hand - and advised the public to report any sightings.
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He said: "Where there is credible information then we'll work with our Scottish SPCA partners to try and recover it through the use of humane live traps.
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"Previous attempts, using such equipment, have not resulted in the recovery of any large cats.
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Wildlife expert Ray Collier believes dangerous beasts are roaming the countryside after being released from captivity.
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He said: "Legislation changed some years ago saying you had to have a licence to keep big cats. A lot of people found they were not suitable and released them.
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"They could survive in the wild. There are vast areas of forest - even close to Inverness."
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But Mr Collier - who's never seen one of the animals himself - added: "They wouldn't attack people. They're too scared."
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Last August, Northern Constabulary warned the public following separate reports of big cats.
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It came after a "large panther-type" animal was spotted near a caravan park at Dornoch, Sutherland, while another sighting was recorded in Tain, Easter Ross.
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Last Sunday, The Scottish Sun told how villagers in Strathy, Caithness, feared sheep had been slaughtered by a similar beast.
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