While enjoying a weekend getaway in Northumberland, Paul Murtha was stunned to spot and film a mysterious “panther-like” big cat crossing a field with a dead rabbit in its mouth. The sighting occurred as Paul and his wife Carly were relaxing and having a barbecue near their camper.
Paul described the moment: “We had just set up our camper and were having a BBQ when my wife saw the animal in a nearby field. She said, ‘Look at the size of that! What is it?’ I grabbed my phone to record, thinking no one would believe how big it was.”
Despite the footage being taken from about half a mile away, Paul insists the creature was much larger than a typical domestic cat—about the size of a small Labrador. “I don’t think you’d even see a house cat from that distance,” he added.
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After uploading the video to Facebook with the caption, “What is this thing? Full rabbit hanging out its gob. Gotta be a panther!” the footage sparked mixed reactions. Some viewers, like Karen Wilkinson, agreed it resembled a panther, while others, including Paul Heister, suggested it was just a regular domestic cat.
However, notable big cat researcher Tim Whittard, who has studied British big cat phenomena for over 20 years, found the footage intriguing. He said, “Given the scale provided by the 5'6” fence posts in the background, this looks much bigger than a normal domestic cat. While some large domestic cats exist, this appears to be something different."
Tim, featured in the documentary ‘Unexplained Island’, also referenced a remarkable case from New Zealand where a feral house cat measured over a meter in length and weighed around 11kg, illustrating that surprisingly large cats can exist.
Further supporting big cat sightings in the UK, Carl Marshall has been collecting DNA evidence from sites of sheep attacks, with one sample from Gloucestershire testing positive for leopard DNA. Carl notes that increasing footage from dashcams, mobile phones, and CCTV is improving the chances of capturing definitive proof.
The Stroud area of Gloucestershire is a hotspot for big cat research, with ongoing trail cam studies by Andy and Claire Rule documenting intriguing photos and claw marks on trees — signs pointing to the presence of large feline predators.
Interest in the subject is rising academically as well, with students from universities like Royal Agricultural University, Bournemouth University, and Warwick University studying big cat phenomena in Britain for dissertations and projects.
While definitive proof remains elusive, the recent Northumberland sighting adds to a growing collection of reports that suggest mysterious large cats may indeed roam parts of the British countryside.