Big cat spotted in Dreghorn

Jan 25 2013 by Ross Dunn, Irvine Herald

As the Irvine Herald told it’s readers last week, big cats are in decline – but not in North Ayrshire.

Reports of incidents in Ayrshire appear to be down, but North Ayrshire seems to be yielding the majority of Ayrshire incidents within the last year.

Dreghorn has always been a hotspot for sightings of the elusive creatures, with two incidents being reported within the last 12 months.

Now, the founder of Big Cats in Britain, Mark Fraser has opened the case files collected in Ayrshire over the last 12 months – with Dreghorn featuring frequently.

“I don’t know why there’s been so many sightings in Dreghorn, it may be a route from one place to another,” he says. “Cats don’t tend to stay in one place but move around a lot.”

Although the sightings in Dreghorn may sound unusual, Mark insists that it’s fairly standard for the village.

“Dreghorn has been a consistent area of sightings in the past.”

On Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, February 14, 2012, more than love was apparently floating around Dreghorn as one person reported a sighting to Big Cats in Britain.

A startled motorist reported: “A large puma-like cat seen near Dreghorn roundabout at approximately 11pm and ran off towards the school.

Mark is currently trying to capture footage of the elusive creatures, to see how they really operate in the wild.

“Unfortunately, Ayrshire seems to be sadly lacking in hard evidence but we’ll continue to look for it.”

“We are presently trying to get as many remote cameras out in the countryside as possible.”

For more information or to report a sighting or incident about a big cat, head over to: visit http://bigcatsinbritain.weebly.com/