As intriguing as the ‘Loch Ness Monster’ tales, and local Himalayan folklore spottings of the ‘Abominable Snowman’ - local reports surrounding ‘big cats’ connect to a broader regional legend known as the ‘Pembrokeshire Panther’. Now the Welsh Government has released its own files on such reported sightings!

There have been numerous sightings of such a black cat across rural parts of the country over the years -ranging from when a motorist said they had seen the animal on the A477 to the west of Llanddowror back in the winter of 2010, to a former police officer describing a "most definitive" daytime encounter near the village of Treffgarne, whne they observed a large, muscular, brown-spotted animal the ‘size of a German Shepherd’ cross a single-track lane right in front of their car around the same time.

So has the mysterious county 'big cat' been on the prowl in Pembrokeshire and other parts of West Wales again in recent times?

Well, a panther, a leopard and a Canadian lynx are among the reported sightings of big cats across various regions of Wales, ranging from Manorbier in Pembrokeshire to Lovesgrove near Aberystwyth, and the subject of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request of sightings recorded between 2020 and 2025 and released by Welsh Government this month.

The records are held by the Wildlife team in relation to alleged big cat sightings for the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025.

These files include any correspondence between the Welsh Government's Wildlife team and Natural Resources Wales (NRW), The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in Wales, which safeguards animal and plant health; along with police forces.

The Welsh Government records also hold a number of videos and photos as evidence of such sightings that have been sent to them.

A spokesperson shared: “The Welsh Government do not have a formal policy document as there is no requirement to inform us of any alleged sighting. However, The Welsh Government record reports of alleged sightings of, and alleged attacks by, big cats on livestock in Wales and where physical evidence is supplied further investigation may be carried out including site inspection and evidence retrieval.

“Any threat to human life is the responsibility of the Home Office and such concerns should be referred to the police.

“We have decided that some of the information is exempt from disclosure under section 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) and is therefore withheld.”

In Pembrokeshire, two sightings within two months of each other were made to the Police’s Rural Crime Team back in January 2023.

A report made shows a chain of email correspondence between Dyfed Powys Police and the Wildlife Team, with an alleged sighting of a ‘big cat’ seen on January 21, at around 10pm on Norchard Road, Manorbier.

The animal was said to be all black and larger than an Alsatian dog with long tail. It crossed from one side of the road to the other in front of the reporter’s car, around 7/8 feet away.

The other report in Pembrokeshire around that period, was said to have been seen on November 25, 2022 at around 11am.

While walking their dog in an area called fairy woods, in Cold Blow, a female saw a cat like animal, much larger than a domestic cat sat in undergrowth near a stream.

It had its teeth and gums exposed but didn’t move while her dog was barking at it. This call was sent to the Neighbourhood policing team for info.

To coincide with this, there were a few reports of livestock attacks within around 6 miles of each sighting.

Another suspected big cat sighting was made on June 2, 2024, at approximately 14:00hrs at Sageston near Tenby.

The reporting party let their dog out of the house as it was constantly barking. Once outside the owner saw what they believed to be a big cat, describing it as large, about the size of a Labrador dog and black in colour. It left without incident.

One incident logged by Dyfed-Powyd Police on April 26, 2022, from Haverfordwest, saw a farmer reporting a loss of livestock, due to an attack.

They stated that they’d lost some animals and had seen a ‘large fawncoloured cat’ at the top of his property. The cat was walking the fence, stopped and jumped over the fence and disappeared into an overgrown area. This was approximately 300m away.

The fence was described as an ordinary boundary fence with livestock netting and barbed wire. It was estimated that the cat came approximately half way up the fencing posts - around 2ft high. The farmer didn't see a tail, only that it looked ‘cat-like’.

The person found that some of his geese kept in a compound surrounded by a high security fence with barbed wire on top, had been killed and one had been eaten.

They also reported a Shetland ewe missing and one of their rams with blood all over its face and in shock.

In Ceredigion, going back to January 28, 2020, Dyfed-Powys Police received a call of a big cat sighting that day in Aberystwyth.

The cat was sighted from a 1st floor flat window in Queens Avenue this morning around 7.30am.

With the flat looking out on the area of scrub to the north of Queens Avenue, the person reporting described what they had seen as being black and bigger than a domestic cat, about the size of a large dog.

The reporter couldn’t see the length of the animal’s tail as it was sitting. He waited a while for the animal to move which it didn’t. The caller then went to the bathroom and when he returned the animal had disappeared.

A sighting of a "panther" between Capel Bangor and Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, was reported to police on May 30, 2023, with the reporter saying they were driving when they saw a "large black cat" come over a hedge and land on the road in front of him. The animal then "pounced across the road" before jumping over another hedge.

It was described as "jet black, smooth/short coat, muscular, long tail, and the size of a Labrador dog", and the reporter said they would describe it as a panther after seeing a photo of the animals online.

In Carmarthenshire, another suspicious animal sighting was reported to Dyfed-Powys Police’s Rural Crime Team only last year, on May 13, 2025, when the reporting person believes he saw a Lynx at Pont Henri.

A Google search made by the spotter after sighting said it was like a Canadian Lynx, in colouring.

It was spotted for about 20-30 seconds, from a distance of around 70 to 80 yards.

He also mentions that it may have been seen since by a third party however, no further report was made to police to-date.

One report from Ceinws, Machynlleth in June 2020, saw video recordings of what was said to be a black ‘Jaguar’ type cat sent to Chester Zoo for an expert analysis, but in their opinion the video seemed to be one of just a domestic cat.

Other sightings mentioned in the report includes one in Pembrokeshire last summer, on July 15, at Porthclais Harbour, St Davids.