| After a series of big cat sightings was reported in the | | | | Britain. |
| Kent Messenger newspaper, senior reporter Chris | | | | 'There's no reason why a puma or lynx couldn't |
| Hunter got permission from his editor to hunt the beast. | | | | survive quite well in woodland,' he told Chris. 'They go |
| With his colleague Jez Brind, Chris staked out the | | | | for small prey. They could quite easily survive without |
| animal near one of its main prowling grounds, the aptly | | | | having to go on to farmland, and without bringing down |
| named Cat's Mount. | | | | livestock. From the reports I've seen, it's feasible. That's |
| Reports in the paper included a sandy- beige, cat-like | | | | all I can say.' |
| animal, the size of a Great Dane' seen near Hucking in | | | | He added: 'People keep them illegally - it's quite easy |
| May and, in June, glimpses of a large black cat | | | | for them to escape and they can't report it.' |
| unnerving anglers on the Burham Reservoir. Prior to his | | | | Brian Badger warned Chris and Jez against attempting |
| midsummer stake-out, Chris spoke to local residents | | | | to capture the animal - that would be far too |
| who are convinced a big cat is patrolling their | | | | dangerous. He urged them to keep low, keep quiet and |
| neighbourhood. | | | | keep their eyes peeled at dawn and dusk. |
| Fanner Dora Pilkington, of Coldblow Farm, told him: | | | | So, how did their overnight vigil below Cat's Mount go? |
| 'There's one up here definitely. It's called the Hucking | | | | Did they see the fabled Hucking Beast? Well maybe. |
| Beast. We had some campers here a couple of years | | | | At any rate, Chris feels fairly certain he heard it. |
| ago who saw it come out and drink water out of a | | | | He told Paranormal Magazine-. 'I saw a black shape |
| bucket. I think it's a loner.' | | | | near a fence but even with the aid of a pair of |
| Mrs Pilkington said the animal was described as black | | | | powerful German-made binoculars I couldn't quite |
| and the size of a labrador and her own personal | | | | make out what it was in the murky darkness. But then |
| evidence for its existence has come in the gruesome | | | | what else could have been responsible for the weird |
| form of mauled lambs and a pony that suddenly fled in | | | | double-barrelled howl that rang out across the Downs |
| panic through an electric fence to escape something | | | | moments before?' |
| unseen in the undergrowth. | | | | The next morning, however, Chris and Jez found much |
| But what could it be? Brian Badger, manager of the | | | | more solid evidence. Next to a puddle on a narrow |
| Wildlife Heritage Fund big cat sanctuary in Kent was | | | | muddy trail, deep in the woods at Hucking where the |
| sure it couldn't be a leopard or jaguar because | | | | 'sandy-beige' beast had been seen, they found a pair |
| livestock attacks would be far more frequent and | | | | of paw prints - prints that lacked the tell-tale claw |
| noticeable if one was around. He confirmed, however, | | | | marks of a dog. |
| that a puma or lynx could survive perfectly well in | | | | |