His menacing prowl is enough to send shivers down anyone's spine - and with good reason. This big cat is believed to be behind a string of 18 attacks on sheep savaging their throats and leaving their blood-covered carcasses to rot.
The mysterious feline, believed to be a puma, was photographed creeping steadily through the long grass, eyeing his target, by brave on-lookers.
Student Lisa Sydenham, 29, caught the beast on camera when she was walking near Embo, Ross-shire, with her sister Alana.
It was just a few miles from fields where a farmer has suffered repeated attacks on his flock.
Police in the Highlands say there have been several credible sighting of big cats in the area.
George Ross of Rheguile Farm, near Edderton, on the shores of the Dornoch Firth, said nothing but the skins of his sheep remained after a series of incidents. In all cases their throats had been crushed.
The sisters say they were stopped in their tracks when they spotted the beast about 8.30pm on Wednesday.
Lisa said: 'It was definitely not just a large domestic cat or dog. At first I thought it was a very large dog but from the way it was walking and the shape of its body I could tell that it was a big cat.'
She added: 'It was quite a distance away over a field. My sister Alana and I were at first very surprised and then excited. I looked into it and found there had been another sighting in the area last September.
such an elegant beast, hopefully it won't do much more damage to the farmers
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