Big Cat sightings on the rise in Oxfordshire.

…that bastion of good taste and accurate reporting THE FORTEAN TIMES did their own survey of Big Cats loose in the UK which included those seen in or around Oxfordshire in 2006 (relevant data below):

2003: Upton (several sightings).
2004: Chipping Norton (2 sightings, M).
2005: Burford (several sightings; several farmers reported sheep killed; photo; cat also reported to have killed a gazelle in Walter Park, Cotswolds – £5,000 reward offered, not claimed) (M, P, S); between Church Hanborough and Long Hanborough (S, P).

But it was a caller to a talk show on BBC Radio Oxford last night (yeah, it just happened to be on, so sue me) who reckons that he, himself, has reported several sightings of a PUMA in fields and undergrowth near Chipping Norton of late. He recalls finding Muntjack deer carcases up in tree branches. His description of the PUMA are very convincing. And frightening.

If you’re in Chippy, maybe walking your little dog late at night or meeting a loved one for a secret rendezvous stay alert and be careful.