‘Big cat’ spotted feeding on dead sheep in Peak District

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A teenage camper has filmed an animal feeding on a “dead sheep” in the Peak District, raising fears that a “big cat” is on the loose in the British countryside. “We tried attracting its attention so that it would turn and face us, so that we could get a better understanding of what we were looking at.” The campers said the possible big cat, which had a long black tail, was in a field of sheep with no other animals. open image in gallery The teenage camper caught the footage on his mobile phone “I could tell we were both thinking the same thing as the day before, we were actually discussing the possibility of us running into a wild cat whilst on our trip.” Josh and his friend Ben Burns avoided getting close to the animal to avoid an attack but said its presence was “eerie”. “I showed the video to my college tutor and friends to make sure I wasn’t going crazy and they were all in disbelief.” “I was glad I managed to capture it on video after the event unfolded as I knew that nobody would believe me if I told them I had seen a panther in the Peak District the first time I went camping.” open image in gallery Josh Williams had spent the night wild camping with a friend Ben Burns when he captured footage of the animal on his phone Panthers live mostly in Africa and can also be found in some Asian countries, including India, Thailand and Sri Lanka.