Sole 'big cat' sighting was of 'puma' in Limavady

The PSNI went to look for the creature but couldn't find it.

Police released details of the sighting in response to a Freedom of Information request.

"PSNI can confirm that in relation to the 2021 calendar year, there was one report of a sighting of a ‘big cat’. This sighting was unable to be confirmed one way or the other," the force said.

"In relation to the one reported sighting, the description provided was a puma-like animal in the Limavady/Castlerock area. An officer was assigned and a search was conducted however no animal was located," the PSNI added.

There have been several reported sightings of 'big cats' in the north west in the past, according to police records.

A large black cat with a bushy tail that reportedly looked similar to a puma was spotted prowling in the Limavady area on June 29, 2013.

There were reports of a possible tiger or ‘puma,’ in the Derry area on June 10, 2007, and a ‘large fawn-coloured cat' in Strabane on April 22, 2009.

There were reports of ‘large black cats’ in Limavady and in Strabane in June and July of 2004 respectively.

And there was a report of a ‘puma’ in Limavady in December 2004 and a ‘very big black cat’ in Strabane in February 2005.