TWO FURTHER sightings of 'big black cats' have been reported in the Wrexham area.

Reports submitted to 'Puma Watch' claim the encounters took place in Rossett and on Wrexham Industrial Estate.

The first report was submitted by Mr O, who was driving on Cox Lane, Rossett at 2pm on March 3, 2023.

He said he saw a 'huge black cat' run across the road and into a hedge, leaving him 'shocked and amazed' by what he saw.

Mr O told Puma Watch: “Driving on Cox Lane and a huge black cat, massive bigger than most dogs but definitely a cat, ran across the road and into a hedge about 20/30 metres in front of me.”

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The second report was also submitted in March by a man called Simon, who was working on a timber yard on Wrexham Industrial Estate at 1.30am on January 10, 2023.

He said he saw a 'big black animal' standing between rows of timber, which seemed to be dazzled by the truck lights.

He said it ran away into the fields when he approached. He added that he thought it was a 'large German Shepherd-type dog' at first, but later realized it was a big cat, 'possibly a puma'.

Simon told Puma Watch: “I was driving a folk lift truck on a timber yard just past mid night surrounded by miles of fields when in-between rows of timber there was a big black animal standing there, it seemed to be dazzled by the truck lights then ran away into the fields.

"First thought was it must have been a large German shepard type dog as I didn’t think such big cats would be in the area.”

These are far from the first reported sightings in the Wrexham area or indeed north Wales as a whole.

According to Puma Watch, a witness was left with recurring ‘panic attacks’ after reportedly encountering a growling “big black cat with glowing eyes” while camping at Commonwood Fishery – just fields away from the most recent Rossett sighting.

In March 2021, a newspaper delivery person reportedly spotted a huge black creature “with a long tail and orange eyes” in the Hoseley area of Marford.

Puma Watch claims that these reports add to the 'growing evidence' of big cats living in North Wales.

A statement on their website reads: "We’ve now documented hundreds of sightings across the region and believe that big cats were released into the wild in the 1970s when they were banned as pets, and have since established small but significant populations.

"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.

"As seen with Llandundo’s now-famous goats, who have taken to roaming the town’s deserted streets during the coronavirus lockdowns, it’s likely that the reduced levels of human activity during the pandemic encouraged big cats to roam further from the hills into more populated areas.

"Despite human activity returning to near pre-pandemic levels, it seems many big cats are now happy to stay in their new territory.

"When big cats were banned as pets in the 1970s, it was legal to release them into the countryside to avoid expensive rehoming costs. Owners from across the UK travelled to areas like Wales to release their cats in the remote environment, where small but significant populations have thrived ever since."Any further sightings can be reported to us via this form.