Big cat feared to be on prowl after paw prints found in grounds of I’m A Celeb castle near ‘Pontybodkin Puma’ sightings
A BIG cat is feared to be on the prowl after paw prints were found in the grounds of the I'm A Celeb castle.
Footprints thought to be made by a big cat have been spotted in the woods surrounding the Grade I listed 19th-century country house Trelogan, Wales.
It comes after an alleged sighting of a huge black cat - known as the 'Pontybodkin Puma' - at the castle in November last year when the hit ITV show was being filmed.
A beast was also reportedly seen stalking the area last month.
Bosses at Gwrych Castle are worried they could belong to a puma.
Locals in the area are convinced there is a beast on the loose.
A castle spokesman said: “We’ve seen reports of a puma roaming the surrounding woods of Gwrych Castle.
“This paw print was spotted in our woods last week. But what do you think, puma or dog paw print?”
The two sets of prints had no claw markings like there was with dog prints. Pumas are known to retract their claws when running.
Local Sean Hayes said: “Looks like a puma to me.”
While Lisa Morgan said: “You need some wildlife cameras up for a few weeks. Pumas would be a fab find."
I’m a Celeb was filmed at the castle last year due to Covid-19 affecting travel to Australia.
TV blogger Giovanna Fletcher won the show.
'BEAST' ON THE LOOSE
Multiple sightings have been reported of a big beast since November near the I'm A Celebrity castle.
Shocked onlooker Jonathan Terry filmed a sighting in February.
He said he was left amazed after seeing the animal close to his home.
A monitoring group called Puma Watch North Wales was set up after a series of mystery sheep killings across the countryside.
Jonathan reported the sighting to the group after being able to film it from two fields away.
He said: "I saw it out of the corner of my eye through the kitchen window overlooking the fields behind the house.
"Filmed as I have been reading about these sightings and it looked far too big to be a regular cat and was more like the size of a sheep or possibly bigger."
In January, witnesses described seeing “a large cat roughly the size of a Labrador” walking along a busy road near Talacre in Flintshire.
It followed other sightings of a black “dog-sized” cat 20 miles away in Pontybodkin.
One was reported by terrified Toby Matthews who said he came face-to-face with a big cat while walking through woodland at night in November.
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He recalled: “Maybe 50 or 60 feet away was an enormous black cat looking right at me.
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"I took a photo then turned around and quickly walked back. I wanted to start running but was worried it’d give chase.
“I’m convinced that it was a puma. It was about two or three times the size of my little Labrador."
