More reports of a big cat, believed by some to be a panther, roaming west Oxfordshire have led to the Cotswold Wildlife Park offering £5,000 for the capture of the "Beast of Burford".
The Burford park, which said none of its cats was missing, wants to add to its collection. As reported in the late edition of yesterday's Oxford Mail, director Reggie Heyworth said: "If anybody can capture this large cat and it's the real McCoy, not a large feral dog or a large domestic cat like a mancoon, and they can do it by Easter, we'll give them £5,000." There have been reports of big black cats in west Oxfordshire for more than 15 years.
Nick August, who farms to the south of the town, is one of the last people to have seen the animal.
He said: "It looked like a very big cat -- completely black and with a large tail."
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