Today I saw my first ABC...well, I saw a very-large black cat-like animal, sprinting down the side of a tree, from it's previous lurking location, which seems to have been an almost horizontal trunk. It gave me a real fright, not because I thought it would attack me, but just the sheer presence of it.
It was at 5 to 7 this morning, deep in the country, at a location I know very well, somewhere I walk often (so much so, presently I'm almost a regular there). There are frequently deer, swans, geese, rabbits etc at this location, and in all the years and times I've been here before, never have I seen the slightest sign of this...thing.
Key points:
- I was really close to it, say 50m or less. I had plenty of opportunity to gauge it's size, especially it's width, because of the tree. I'd say dog-sized, but cat-mannered (silent, no growls or hiss)
- It moved >really< fast, down the tree, in a tumble run, and it seemed very hairy/furry. No legs or tail were distinct, as if they were all as hairy as it's torso.
- It seemed to have some sharp internal edges, like partings in hair, as it moved...think of sweeping a huge wig, through the air, the straight-curved swoosh of a bow-wave. Almost like a black sleek Dulux dog
- It broke ground twigs once it left the tree, making impressive progress over overgrown upsloping ground, and this is where it gets truly odd....I thought it stopped. I ceased seeing it move, so it either went down into a hole, or somehow went under something.
But....I somehow felt it maybe froze, and I was still able to see it. I need to think carefully about this.
