‘It just disappeared pretty quickly into the bushes, I saw it for maybe a couple of seconds’

13:40, 16 Jun 2026Updated 13:46, 16 Jun 2026

An image submitted to the Bristol Post that was said to have been taken on Purdown Open Space, just before 9am on Friday, June 12, 2026. It claims to show what appears to be a big cat walking towards the undergrowth between the Open Space and the allotments, just to the east of Lockleaze

An image submitted to the Bristol Post that was said to have been taken on Purdown Open Space, just before 9am on Friday, June 12, 2026. It claims to show what appears to be a big cat walking towards the undergrowth between the Open Space and the allotments, just to the east of Lockleaze(Image: Bristol Post submitted)

A woman in Bristol claims to have taken a photograph of what appears to be a big cat, on the open space of Purdown.

The unverified image, which was sent to Bristol Live, was taken facing north with the Purdown telecom tower in the distance, in one of the fields of the Purdown Open Space immediately to the east of the Sir Johns Lane Allotments.

The person who took the photo said they wanted to remain anonymous, and declined requests for an interview. They did say the picture was taken just before 9am on Friday morning, June 12, as they were walking towards Heath House.

The witness said she thought it was a dog at first, but when she realised it wasn’t, she managed to snap a quick picture on her phone before it quickly disappeared into the undergrowth to the left of the image.

That spot there has a wide section of undergrowth that forms the boundary with the allotments, and is just 100 yards or so from the nearest house on Crowther Road in Lockleaze.

The animal captured in the image resembles a large black cat – a panther or puma – with a distinctive long tail, but whether or not the image is genuine is unknown.

Steve England, the wildlife expert based on Purdown and Stoke Park, said he did not believe the image was genuine, saying while it was based on a real-life view, he was sure the big cat was added in using AI.

An image submitted to the Bristol Post that was said to have been taken on Purdown Open Space, just before 9am on Friday, June 12, 2026. It claims to show what appears to be a big cat walking towards the undergrowth between the Open Space and the allotments, just to the east of Lockleaze

An image submitted to the Bristol Post that was said to have been taken on Purdown Open Space, just before 9am on Friday, June 12, 2026. It claims to show what appears to be a big cat walking towards the undergrowth between the Open Space and the allotments, just to the east of Lockleaze(Image: Bristol Post submitted)

Others were also sceptical. Bristol Post photographer Paul Gillis said it was impossible to tell if the image was genuine without examining the original photograph directly from the device it was reportedly taken on.

Bristol Post reporter Tristan Cork, who has written previously about his experiences seeing and reporting on big cats around the West Country, said that even though he believes big cats do roam the countryside, the image seemed at first glance to be ‘too good to be true’.

“It’s potentially the clearest image of a big cat taken in the West Country for a while, but something about it feels too good to be true,” he said.

“It could well be genuine – I don’t know – but the tail of the animal showing like that, and the way it aligns perfectly with the Purdown tower beyond, seems too perfect, so I am cautious about this one.

“If it is genuine, then it is astonishing, and it means there is clearly a big cat prowling around close to the heart of Bristol in one of the busiest areas of open parkland in the city,” he added. “If it’s not then it’s a good attempt.”

The full image shows a finger or thumb partially covering the lens of the phone in the top left hand corner.

The full image submitted to the Bristol Post that was said to have been taken on Purdown Open Space, just before 9am on Friday, June 12, 2026. It claims to show what appears to be a big cat walking towards the undergrowth between the Open Space and the allotments, just to the east of Lockleaze

The full image submitted to the Bristol Post that was said to have been taken on Purdown Open Space, just before 9am on Friday, June 12, 2026. It claims to show what appears to be a big cat walking towards the undergrowth between the Open Space and the allotments, just to the east of Lockleaze(Image: Bristol Post submitted)

“It just disappeared pretty quickly into the bushes. I saw it for maybe a couple of seconds,” the witness, who declined to reveal their identity, told Bristol Live. “

In response to suggestions people will assume the image was created using AI, they said: “Scepticism is healthy. We do live in that time and I’m simply sharing what was captured. People can make their own minds up.”

It’s not the first time there have been claims of a big cat in the vast area of open space that stretches from opposite Fairfield High School on the Muller Road, all the way up the western side of the M32, that takes in Stoke Park, and runs up to the M4 at Hambrook and Stoke Gifford.

OPINION

In July 2018, a retired English teacher told Bristol Live she saw a big cat in Stoke Park, while she was a passenger in a car driving up the M32 out of Bristol.

The woman, called Joanna, was on her way home from her daughter’s graduation, when she spotted what at first she thought was a small horse, but then realised it was a big cat with a long tail, in the area in front of the Dower House.