Wales’ big cat sightings have been reported across the country in recent weeks, including in Eryri, Abergele and Bannau BrycheiniogAndrew Forgrave Countryside and tourism editor and Lucy John
12:44, 18 Apr 2026
The powerful black animal was claimed to have pinned a sheep to the ground by its neck(Image: Nicola/Puma Watch)
A mother and daughter claim they experienced a frightening encounter with a large “black animal” that pursued them after it attacked a sheep. The incident adds to a string of recent big cat sightings reported throughout Wales.
Over the past five weeks, encounters have been documented in Eryri national park, Abergele and, belatedly, in Colwyn Bay. Another occurred at Trefil Quarry, a disused limestone mine situated on the fringes of Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons).
A woman named Nicola was out walking with her daughter in the quarry on the evening of March 14. She described how a “muscular and powerful” creature had followed the pair back to their vehicle. Make sure you never miss Wales’ biggest updates by getting our daily newsletter
Reporting the sighting to Puma Watch North Wales, she said: “We saw six sheep came running over the hill followed by a black animal low to the ground. It pounced on one of the sheep’s neck, taking it straight down and keeping it down. The other sheep stopped.
“This black animal then noticed us watching it, let go of the sheep and ran over to the other sheep. It ran three metres up the hill still very low to the ground. It stopped and started to watch us.
“We started to walk back to the car now it was starting to get dark but we could still see it. It stalked us all the way back to the car.
“Half hour earlier we were walking up the hill and we heard and saw a cow mooing loudly and running. But we couldn’t see what was chasing it. That’s what stopped us from walking to the top. This black animal looked like a cat and acted like a cat, the way it moved – muscular, powerful,” reports North Wales Live.
The powerful black animal was said to have pinned a sheep to the ground by its neck(Image: Nicola/Puma Watch)
Trefil Quarry sits at one of the highest elevations in the South Wales valleys. According to Puma Watch, the area’s wild landscape and plentiful livestock make it “highly suitable habitat for a large apex predator”.
The online reporting platform added: “South Wales has a long history of big cat reports, most notably the alleged attack on a young boy in nearby Trellech in August, 2000, and numerous livestock-related encounters across the region.”
The 2000 incident in Monmouthshire, approximately 24 miles away, left an 11-year-old boy with five long claw marks to his left cheek. At the time, Gwent Police urged the public to remain vigilant for a black, “leopard-like” creature.
More recent reports of suspected big cat encounters have also been submitted to Puma Watch from North Wales. While all were made in good faith, some have been questioned on social media as possible domestic cat sightings. Three examples are detailed below.
Cat ‘size of a Collie dog’ in Abergele
A dog walker claimed to have spotted a large, dark-coloured creature in woodland above the coastal town of Abergele. She believed it may have been a puma. Joanne was walking her two dogs at 7.45pm on Wednesday, April 8, when she encountered something unexpected. She told Puma Watch: “A large cat ran up the hill and onto the path in front of me approximately 20 metres away.
“It was approximately the size of a Collie dog. Sleek/slim feline build with a very long tail. Colour was dark greyish.
“Couldn’t see its head as ran directly downhill away from us. Ran fast with a distinctive feline gait. I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo.”
According to Puma Watch, this wasn’t the first big cat sighting reported in the locality. “A large, black and muscular” cat had previously been observed in fields between Betws-yn-Rhos and Abergele, while a puma was photographed in the vicinity of Gwrych Castle.
‘Fast-moving black animal’ on Eryri hillside
A walker has described witnessing a black creature displaying behaviour characteristic of a large cat on a hillside beneath Foel-fras, a 944-metre summit at the northern extremity of the Carneddau range in Eryri.
Spotted close to Dulyn Bothy at approximately 7.15am on Sunday, April 12, the walker reported that the animal was moving at considerable speed. They told Puma Watch: “I was walking uphill across a field, it was very boggy and wet.
“In the distance I saw this black thing moving fast making a lot of splash/spray as it did so. It was heading somewhat away from me but not directly away – it was going downhill.
“My first thought was that the thing moves like a cat – but I doubt it was. I didn’t see any tail or any detail, just a black mass moving. But the way it moved felt cat-like, very low to the ground.”
Puma Watch noted that the majority of big cat sightings originated from Eryri and the Clwydian hills. The site added: “Sightings have been reported with increasing regularity in recent years, including sightings on Snowdon’s Pyg Track and near Bethesda to the west.”
Biker’s sighting, Colwyn Bay
A motorcyclist riding through the roads above Colwyn Bay came to an abrupt halt after spotting a large black creature moving rapidly up a hillside.
Josh only recently reported his sighting this month – though the actual encounter occurred at approximately 8.30pm on Sunday, June 15, 2023.
He told Puma Watch: “I know it’s three years later but I didn’t know this was a thing. I was riding my motorbike around Colwyn Bay and I took a random road that brought me through the mountains.
“When I was riding I saw this large black (thing) sprinting up the mountain sideways. I stopped the bike and it just disappeared. But I thought to myself there’s only one animal that can run like that. It was low to the ground and moving so fast.”
According to Puma Watch, the hills rising above Colwyn Bay represent “prime territory for big cat activity”. The site added: “The Bryn Cadno and Colwyn Heights areas, which rise steeply above the town, have produced multiple sightings over the years.
“These have included two separate reports on the same day in May, 2022, and a driver who captured video footage of a large dark shape moving up a hillside in the Colwyn Bay area in 2023.
“The mountain terrain above the town, with its remote ridgelines and wooded gullies, would provide ample cover and hunting range for a large solitary predator.”
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