A BLACK 'panther' has been spotted prowling the wilds of Worcestershire as a walker provides video of the 'big cat' running through a field.
Martin Burford, originally from Worcester, has filmed what he says is panther, a type of big cat, out in the wild on the border of Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.
The photographer has even shared a gruesome photo showing the partially devoured carcass of what he says is the big cat's prey, in this case the chewed up remains of a lamb.
The 53-year-old last saw the 'panther' around three months ago and filmed it running through fields about a year ago as he goes public about the discovery.
Mr Burford believes there is a thriving population of big cats released as 'exotic pets' from mansions and stately homes in the county in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
He says the big cats follow the rivers and that this panther had been killing lambs as he provided a photo of one of the dismembered animals he says was left in the big cat's wake.
"I told one farmer but he didn't believe me but the other farmer said 'I've seen it myself - and I'm glad you got it in video because nobody believed me'."
Mr Burford said he was able to identify it as a big cat because of its size and distinctive gait.
He also spotted what he says was a lynx on the Worcestershire and Gloucestershire border at around 6pm on Saturday.
"I'm sure it was a lynx. It looked in my direction. It was not a domestic cat - 100 per cent. It was a big cat. The dog was going mad trying to get to it," he said.
A lynx has a short tail, characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears, large, padded paws for walking on snow and long whiskers on the face.
Under their neck, they have a ruff, which has black bars resembling a bow tie, although this is often not visible.
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There are four species - the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat.
We reported in August last year on the 'clearest ever' photo of a big cat prowling the British countryside.
We reported that Jason Neville said he saw the infamous 'Pershore panther' on Boxing Day, 2022.
He was so concerned about it prowling on the wetlands in Pershore he called the police.
Mr Neville said he also saw what were the remains of a "huge" carcass which he thought was probably a goose, on the back pitch of Pershore Town football pitch.
"It has no innards, so it had been eaten in its entirety, just the wings left."
In 2017 pensioner David Wherton said he had seen a “muscular” cat-like creature while walking home from the shops.
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