Is this the Beast of Cullen? 'Big cat' remains found at Moray beauty spot

Remains: John Robertson said the beast's tail was 18 inches long and its teeth suggested it was a cub.SWNS

The remains of a mysterious giant cat-like creature have been found close to a popular north-east beauty spot.

Builder John Robertson, 50, stumbled across the rotting carcass on a path in Cullen, Moray, while out with his wife, Pauline, and their two dogs on Monday morning.

On a nearby cliff-top lay the mangled remains of half a dozen seagulls which appear to have been the beast's last meal before it plunged to its death below.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," he said. "I have never seen so many dead birds in one area.

"They were completely mauled, they had their guts totally ripped out of them lying on the ground.

"Then a little further on we came across a horrible rotting smell which was this big cat. It looks like it's feasted on the seagulls and maybe it has fallen down the cliff nearby, injured itself and just lay there till it died."

John's eye was caught by the frightening sharp teeth and 18 inch-long tail, but he said the most terrifying thing of all was that it may have been a cub.

"I didn't have a tape measurer on me to measure the tail, but I'm a builder so I have a pretty good idea that it's about 18 inches long.

"I reckon it's a cub though, its teeth are too clean and there isn't enough damage to them, which means they must be pretty new. You can imagine how big it's mother would be.

"I'm sure we'll find out from the DNA tests what type of cat it is, but it certainly seems like one of the big cats."

There have been a number of reported big cat sightings in Moray in the last few years. The latest was on April 16, when Portessie man Bill Paterson saw what he described as a cat-like animal as large as a Labrador, while walking his dog at Rathven Burn.

In February, a Portgordon man said he saw an animal matching the same description beside an old railway line in the village. Later that week it was spotted again at Buckpool Golf Club.

Bob Wallace, an expert with the Big Cats In Britain group, is now studying the remains of the creature John found on Monday.

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