Large wildcat ‘the size of a medium dog’ is spotted casually strolling through Cambridgeshire countryside
- A wildcat has been spotted roaming across Coldham’s Common, Cambridge
- Resident Dan Underwood caught the animal on video before it wandered off
- The cat resembles a Savannah like the one spotted in Highgate, north London
- Dan suggested it could be a fen tiger previously spotted in December last year
A large wildcat has been caught on camera casually roaming around a park in central Cambridge.
The animal, which resembles a Savannah cat, was spotted walking across Coldham’s Common on Sunday August 9 by Cambridge resident Dan Underwood.
Photos and video footage show the large wild animal with distinctive sand/brown fur and black stripes casually strolling through the field.
‘I was out and about enjoying the sun and spotted a very large cat walking across Coldham’s Common,’ Dan explained.
A large wildcat has been caught on camera casually roaming around a park in central Cambridge
‘It was around 4pm and I was sat on Coldham’s Common where the Parkrun would normally take place. I just saw it in the corner of my eye and just straight away took a video.’
‘It was the size of a medium dog, lean and very agile looking. It was a light sand colour with dark spots, and big pointed ears. Much bigger than a regular cat.’
‘It had no collar and didn’t seem to be in any panic. It just simply walked on by. It walked by, stopped for a sec then carried on walking.
‘I got up and followed it and it just scampered away into the hedgerow. I tried to follow it some more but it had gone.’
Cambridgeshire Police said they were not aware of the sighting.
Following the sighting, Dan said he began researching what the animal could have been and came across stories of the Fen Tiger, which has allegedly been spotted by numerous people throughout the county over for over 30 years.
The most recent suspected sighting of the animal happened behind Abbotsley golf club in St Neots on December 18 last year.
Photos and video footage show the large wild animal with distinctive sand/brown fur and black stripes casually strolling through the field
‘I know there is a lot of buzz around the myth of the “Fen Tiger” so it could be quite humorous to find it is just a large cat,’ Dan explained.
‘I looked it up on Google and I’m pretty certain it was a Savannah cat, a hybrid of a Serval and a domestic cat. As far as I am aware they are legal in the UK but only if they are under a certain size.’
However, the cat’s fur colour and size does resemble a Savannah cat, a cross between a domestic cat and a serval African wildcat, similar to the one seen roaming through Highgate in north London earlier this year.
The type of cat has not yet been confirmed.