ARE THESE PRINTS OF THE DURHAM PUMA? Walker finds 'cat' tracks in muddy field.

Byline: JEREMY ARMSTRONG

LARGE animal tracks, thought to have been made by the legendary Durham Puma, have been found in a field near the River Tees.

The prints, roughly nine centimetres in length, were spotted by a walker near Winstone, Co Durham.

Running along one length of a muddy field, the prints clearly show a large paw with deep claw markings.

The puma has been sighted on numerous occasions over the past two decades, but this is is the first time fresh tracks have been found in recent years.

The huge paw prints were found close to the banks of the Tees at the weekend.

Roger Pedleham, 43, a wholesale flower merchant, of Darlington, had a close encounter with the elusive cat four years ago.

He said: "The first thing I noticed was a big long tail that was totally unmis-takable. It was so long that it came down and looped back up.

"Its walk and gait were very distinctive and it was about three foot tall.

"It was following the field edge and it was black, like a panther.

"I could tell by the way that it walked that it was a big cat. My heart was absolutely pounding."

Roger followed the beast until it disappeared through a hole in the hedge.

The beast was also captured on film in 1995 with a rabbit between its teeth and the same year an independent expert examined dung found near a savaged sheep carcass.

The dung, mainly made up of rabbit, was examined by Dr Hans Kruuk, a carnivore specialist at the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology in Aberdeen, who concluded that it was almost certainly "a puma or leopard dropping."

CAPTION(S):

MYSTERY Tracks with rule to show scale