Animal footprints photographed by a Gratton resident which he believes could have been made by the infamous Moorlands panther
There have been many claimed sightings of a big cat in the Moorlands and in particular at The Roaches.
The mysterious cat is said to be a black panther and was first spotted in 2003, with lots of sightings following in the years to come.
But is this Moorland Panther real?
We spoke to local historian Doug Pickford who thinks it's all a bit of a mystery: "Undoubtedly there was something out of the ordinary.
"I know people who have seen it and these witnesses are reliable. I have full confidence in them and don't think they did it as a publicity stunt."
One sighting near the Blackshaw Moor road sign from the Lud Church Blog described the cat as follows: “It was about the size of an Alsation dog, its colour was brown with a dappled appearance on its back, it had no tail and its ears appeared to be tufted”.
Sheep and other animals have also been found dead, with claw marks and other evidence pointing towards it being killed by a big cat.
Mr Pickford said: "I've personally seen the evidence and a fox or dog wouldn't do that. It was the work of a natural born killer."
Soon after the first sightings, searches took place to try and find the panther-type animal but with no success.
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