A still image from the video showing a dark-colored animal crossing a field. *(anonymous / YouTube)*

An anonymous witness shared a video online this month that shows a dark-colored animal crossing a field in the Tynedale district of Northumberland, England.

The video was shared anonymously to YouTube, although the witness did reportedly speak with Chronicle Live regarding the incident.

According to Chronicle Live, the witness said they were working in the remote Allen Valleys when they spotted the creature from around 40 meters away, and that it “had to be bigger” than a normal cat.

Modern sightings of anomalous big cats in Tynedale date back at least two decades, with many witnesses having reportedly seen a large black panther in the area.

Reports of anomalous big cats are relatively common in England, with several high profile sightings reported within the last two years; including a mysterious black animal appearing in the background of Good Morning Britain, one witness who claimed their dog had been attacked by a “large cat” while they were out walking in Birstall, a woman in Cumbria who shared a series of photos featuring an animal that many believe to be a puma, and the image of a "large wildcat with big claws" shared by a man in Cambridge.

Two reports of a large, anomalous black cat also came out of North West Leicestershire in 2017.

Experts question the existence of a population of true big cats in Britain, especially a breeding population. Any such animals that are recovered, like the puma found in Scotland in 1980, are largely blamed on an escaped or released pet that had been kept illegally—although hard-line skeptics explain most sightings away as domestic cats that are seen near to a viewer, but are misinterpreted as larger animals seen further away, and refuse to accept even the idea of exotic pet ownership to explain the phenomenon.

In contrast, certain cryptozoologists believe that Britain has secretly supported a population of leopards, or some other species of large feral feline, for thousands of years; an idea that is supported by folklore stretching back to the beginning of recorded history.

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