The Beast of Ryedale is sighted again (From Gazette & Herald)

The Beast of Ryedale is sighted again

TWO more sightings of a large black cat-like creature in the Cropton Forest area have been reported.

One report is from a man who previously worked in a zoo, the other from a dog walker.

The most recent sighting is one from a man who was walking his dog in the forest, early last week. As he walked along, he glanced down a fire break and saw a large black animal that moved very close to the ground.

"It was," said the caller, "about the size of a badger but it definitely was not a badger - it moved too smoothly and swiftly."

He said it remained in sight only for about a second before it moved off into the thick cover of young trees.

The Cropton man, who did not want to make his name public, walks his dog in the area frequently. He had never seen anything like it. He said on his return to home, he described the creature to several people but no one could identify it.

He said he rang the Gazette & Herald to report his sighting because he wanted to support the sighting reported by a motorist in last week's paper. The Cropton man said he saw the creature before reading about it in the paper.

Meanwhile, we received an e-mail from another Cropton resident, who "saw a black panther jumping over a wall in front of my vehicle. Having worked in a zoo and having a keen interest in wildlife, I recognised the animal immediately.

"Unfortunately, on returning home, my story was listened to with some disbelief."

The cat, he said, bounded over the wall with absolutely no effort, "it was very swift and cat-like in its movement".

Later, he said, he was chatting with a gamekeeper he knows.

"Have you ever seen any unusual wildlife?" asked the man, who didn't reveal what he had seen. The gamekeeper replied: "Yes, I've seen a panther on three occasions."

His sighting was in February, one evening about 11pm within about 50 yards of the New Inn, at Cropton.

Why did he wait so long to report it? He said: "I didn't think I would be believed. But when I saw your story last week, I wanted to offer my own assurances.

"It was not a trick of the eye. And after two years working at a zoo, I know what a panther looks like and how they move."

The e-mail sender said he hopes no one shoots the animal, but that someone captures it on video.

Click here to go to our 'Cat' sightings section

Updated: 13:26 Wednesday, May 14, 2003