PAWPRINTS have been found in the same woods where big cats - dubbed the Puma of Pontybodkin - have previously been caught on camera.

Chris Hughes was chopping wood in Coed Talon near Pontybodkin, Flintshire, when he noticed the pawprints.

The Leader: Pawprint found in snow near Pontybodkin.Pawprint found in snow near Pontybodkin. (Image: Chris Hughes/Puma Watch UK)

He took a photo, which he shared along with his report with Puma Watch UK, with a matchbox for size comparison.

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It is not the first time big cats have been spotted in the woods.

Mystery creatures have even been caught on video twice.

Puma Watch founder Tony Jones said: "In November 2020, a big cat was caught on video at the location and became known as the ‘Puma of Pontybodkin‘ by the media. 

"Two more sightings were reported in the Pontybodkin and Pontblyddyn areas the following month and a Conservative politician demanded the Welsh Government began an investigation.

"Then just weeks later on 1st March 2021, another member of the public caught a similar animal on video again at the same location."

Tony, who set up the group to document and investigate big cat sightings in North Wales, added: "The area has a long-term history of big cat sightings. Back in 2013, a resident of nearby Treuddyn spotted an all-black big cat moving through a paddock at 2:35am."

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Back in 2006, Tiger King star Carole Baskin wrote on her Big Cat Rescue’s website: “Earlier this year there were confirmed reports and prints of a puma near Treuddyn and Leeswood near Mold.”

Tony said snowfall often results in tracks, which may or may not be left by big cats, being seen.

He said: "Pawprints are routinely found and reported after it snows in North Wales. In the winter of 2020/21, prints were found at Meliden near Prestatyn and at Rhiwlas near Bangor.

"Big cats such as pumas are solitary with a hunting range of dozens of miles. They’re mostly spotted in Snowdonia and the Clwydian hills but reports of sightings in urban locations some distance from these areas are becoming more frequent."