Source: Gloucestershire Live
Date: August, 2025
Location: Gloucestershire
A women has described seeing a dead ‘Puma’ on the central reservation of the M5 motorway near Gloucester Services, apparently having been hit by a vehicle.
Gloucestershire is considered a hotspot for big cat sightings, due to it’s large rural areas providing lots of habitat and food resources, but also large human populations in places like Cheltenham and Gloucester, meaning there are plenty of potential witnesses.
The cat was seen near Gloucester Services. Looking at the map, it’s not immediately obvious why it would be crossing the M5 towards Gloucester as there is not much green between the motorway and the built up area. One possibility is chasing deer, that ran across the motorway in a bid to escape, and the cat was unfortunate to run across into the path of a vehicle. Deer often congregate on grass verges near roads in order to feed.
The area to the east of the motorway is extremely viable habitat. There is a tract of woodland that runs from Haresfield Beacon up to Great Witcombe, where Witcombe waters are located, providing a reliable water source year round. There is a history of sightings around Painswick, again showing that where people and habitat meet, that is where the sightings will be. In November 2024, a dead deer was found near Painswick, believed to have been a big cat kill. Is it possible the animal seen on the motorway was the same animal that killed and ate the deer only the year before?
This is not the first time an apparent big cat has been hit by a vehicle and left on the side of the road. In 2024, a picture was taken of what seems to be another Puma lying on the side of the road. The image shows the sandy coloured animal lying on the road facing away from the camera. You can clearly make out the dark, rounded ears. Interestingly in both cases it is rumoured, or speculated, that the animal was removed by authorities after it was reported.
