Cornwall 'lion': More sightings since lorry driver first spotted big cat

A big cat has reportedly been spotted in Cornwall and the mysterious animal, which was first said to be a female lion, is now believed to be a puma or mountain lion.

The first sighting was by a lorry driver on 14 July near a clay pit between Nanpean and Whitemoor.

SEE ALSO: Police hunt for lion on the loose in Cornwall

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But residents have reported more sightings since the lorry driver claimed he saw the animal.

Earlier this week another lorry driver said he discovered a decapitated deer near St Austell. A foal was also found mutilated in the village of Carn Brea by its owner Melissa Press.

On Friday, Gail Hodgson, from St Austell, told the Daily Mail she saw the big cat in a tree near the A390.

She said: "I saw one of the branches bouncing up and down like someone was jumping on it."

She added: "It was definitely a cat and it was three times bigger than my dog, which is a schnauzer terrier."

Meanwhile, Jane Reddel told the Plymouth Herald that she spotted the beast while on a yacht on 13 June, before the lorry driver's sighting.

"As the boat was spinning around with the tide I suddenly became aware of a female lion right down at the waters edge," she said.

"She suddenly looked up and saw me, bounded over a fallen tree and up a sheer bank effortlessly and was gone."

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