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The animal is described as bigger than a Labrador dog and has been seen north of Potters Bar and around South Mimms - less than a mile from Brookmans Park's Gobions Open Space.
Helicopter search
Two Metropolitan Police officers from Barnet spotted the animal in the fields around South Mimms as police helicopters using heat-seeking equipment scoured the local countryside.
News reports said police were assisted in their search by the local RSPCA centre and the Royal Veterinary College at Brookmans Park. Staff from London Zoo were also drafted in.
Previous sightings
This is not the first such ‘sighting’in the area. Over the years there have been several reports of a puma-like creature roaming the countryside south of Brookmans Park, although it has never been captured.
A spokesman for the RSPCA said the animal could be the same creature spotted in the area in recent years. He explained that if it is a large wild cat it is probably at the top of it's food chain and not at threat from any other animal. He said it could be that the animal keeps itself to itself and feeds off smaller creatures.
Lynx
Recently another large wild cat, described locally as looking like a lynx has been spotted in nearby Hoddesdon where there have been several sightings. For a full report from the Herts Mercury click here.
A reader from America, Allison Blackham has sent in the
following advice about Pumas issued by her local authority ... click here.
Have you seen the puma or the lynx?
'Have Your Say' section.Sept 27, 1998