On this day: Chester ‘big cat’ turns out to be zoo jaguar

The incident began when Puma Watch North Wales shared a report from two individuals named Richard and Philip, who claimed to have photographed a large black cat in Grosvenor Park.

However, a member of Puma Watch used "open-source journalism techniques" to investigate the claim and quickly determined that the big cat was, in fact, Goshi, who was safely housed in his enclosure at Chester Zoo.

Tony Jones, founder of Puma Watch North Wales, said: "Today, thanks to the efforts of the Puma Watch community, we are able to confirm their report is a ‘hoax’.

"Using open-source journalism techniques, we have successfully matched the location of their photo with the jaguar enclosure at nearby Chester Zoo – enabling us to eliminate their report from our ongoing investigations."

He added: "This is the second time we’ve been able to conclusively 'debunk' reports of a big cat in recent months.

"In February, we received multiple sightings, including a video, of a creature prowling fields near Trelogan.

"Within days, we tracked down the owner of an incredibly large pet cat living nearby, and were able to confirm that the ‘big cat’ caught on video was actually Sheldon, described as 'the biggest softy ever'.

"His owner was forced to buy a dog cage to take him to the vets as he can’t fit in a cat carrier."

The hoax came amidst a series of big cat sightings in Chester, including one where a creature was captured on camera in Chester Meadows, just metres from Grosvenor Park.

Mr Jones noted: "On Friday 16th April, Alan Standing spotted what could have been a puma near Blacon, at a location well under a mile from four other recent sightings."

Big cat sightings had become so frequent in Chester that they were even commemorated in the ‘Lego Chester’ display within Chester Market.

This article was originally published by Matt Warner on April 30, 2021.