By Tim Binnall
A father and son out for a bike ride in Britain had a terrifying encounter with a mysterious big cat that was spotted stalking the boy in a manner suggesting that the youngster was about to become the monstrous creature's next meal. According to a local media report, the unsettling incident took place last week as Martin and Harry Abonyi were enjoying a visit to a wooded area known as Black Carr Plantation in the town of Doncaster. Just prior to sunset, the duo were riding their bikes along a trail with the 11-year-old boy around 90 feet ahead of his dad, when the man suddenly saw "a large black animal sprinting out from the cover of the woods heading directly for my son, running diagonally to head him off."
Initially suspecting that the creature was merely a sizeable black dog, Martin glanced around to see if there was perhaps an irresponsible pet owner who could account for the wayward canine. However, upon realizing that they were alone and giving the strange sighting a second thought, the man became certain that he had actually seen one of the mysterious big cats said to roam the British countryside. This was understandably a rather worrisome assessment as, by now, the animal had vanished into the brush, leaving Martin to theorize that "it saw me coming, aborted its attack and was laying up in the bracken," perhaps preparing to strike at an opportune time.
Remarkably, Harry remained unaware of the situation as it was unfolding and Martin smartly kept him from finding out that they were in potential danger by simply telling the boy to stop for a moment and take a break. His dad subsequently "had a little look around in the undergrowth" for the creature, though "admittedly I didn't want to get too close as a cornered cat would likely attack." Fortunately the animal was nowhere to be found and Martin instructed his son to keep going down along the path away from the spot where the predatory animal had been seen. It was only after they had left the park, Martin says, that he informed Harry of what had happened and "he was quite shook up when I told him."