For the past five years, farmers living in an area of northern Scotland have noticed that their sheep have fallen victim to a perplexing unknown predator.
A resident of one of the villages who has been tracking the incidents says that an astounding forty of the woolen creatures have fallen victim to the mystery animal in just the last five years.
According to Jim Johnston, each kill appears similar in that the sheep's skin seems to be swiftly pulled from the animal and its body subsequently devoured with little more than bones left behind.
Lest one suspect some kind of cattle mutilation situation, the evidence suggests that the sheep were lost to a natural predator, albeit one that remains unidentified and apparently quite powerful.
Based on his observations of the downed sheep, Johnston marveled that whatever killed them possessed a monstrous bite that easily broke their bones.
Strangely, a similar series of events took place in the late 1970's in the area and locals believed they were the work of one of Britain's infamous 'big cats' said to roam the country but rarely seen.
Johnston suspected that may be the case with these recent sheep deaths, but is not entirely convinced just yet.
For now, farmers in the area are advised to keep an eye on their ewes and report anything strange they might see.
Source: The Independent