Giant carp 'killed by big cat'

The 22-pound mirror carp was dragged from its pond and taken across a stretch of land to the other side of a river, David Spencer said.

"There is very little doubt that it was a big panther-like cat that ate the fish, " said Mr Spencer, who runs a big-cat website.

He said the animals dragged the large carp about 80 yards and then crossed a three-foot-deep river that was in flood.

'Not an otter'

Only the head of the fish remained, which means at least 10 pounds of the carp was eaten, he said.

"It may have leapt across the river - they can easily clear 11 feet in one go," Mr Spencer told BBC News Online.

The carp's owner, Hugh Hellyer, who lives near Twyford said: "Whatever caught the fish was strong enough to move something that size and get across the river - I don't think an otter could do that.

"I have been to Africa but only saw one leopard in 10 weeks, they are very elusive - these ones are probably a hybrid of some sort."

Panthers have been seen in that area, from Twyford to Burrough-on-the-Hill, several times in the past few months, Mr Spencer said.

He said a country park warden who farms in the area has seen panthers a few times in the last two years.

He said: "We have had 500 sightings in Leicestershire and Rutland in the past seven years - perhaps one or two a week."

Mr Spencer said one sighting in Leicester last month, near the Leicester Mercury newspaper offices was reported to the police, who said it may have got into the city in a culvert.