GOVILON locals were getting a bit twitchy last week when a loud roar reverberated through the sleepy little village.

Not a lot happens in Govilon. It’s that sort of place. So a loud roar is bound to cause a bit of concern in an area where an exhaust misfiring could trigger a 999 call.

Many residents took to social media asking if anyone else had heard the roar and if so, what the hell was it?

The responses were mixed.

Some suggested it could be a lion, and although that might sound ludicrous, Govilon is surrounded by a lot of woodland and lies at the foot of the vast expanse of the Blorenge.

So is it really beyond the realms of possibility to suggest that a big cat might be roaming this patch of Monmouthshire and giving concerned residents sleepless nights?

The county has long enjoyed the lion’s share of big cat sightings in England and Wales and has a reputation as something of a hotspot when it comes to panthers, pumas and other feline nomads.

At the turn of the century, the “Beast of Trellech” caused panic when it attacked a 11-year-old schoolboy from the village.

Subsequent sightings of the big cat in question were spotted everywhere from Vauxhall Fields to Devauden.

In 2026, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Welsh government found that between January 2020 and July 2025, 15 big cat sightings of everything from a panther, a leopard, and a Canadian lynx were reported to the authorities.

Just over the border in Powys, generations of farmers insist that unexplained deaths of their livestock are proof that these predators are not only alive but thriving in Brecon and Radnor.

In 2011, Powys farmer Malcolm 'Mally' Powell told the Brecon & Radnor Express that Hay-on-Wye, Talgarth and Velindre were common stomping grounds for big cats and that sightings of the animals were so common they had become native to Powys.

Mally explained, “Loads of people in the area have seen a big cat; there have been common sightings since early 2000, everyone's seen it."

And a mere snowball’s throw away from Govilon we have the “Beast of Blaenavon.”

In the early 2000s residents of the hilltop hamlet were on their guard against a “black panther-type” creature that was set to be stalking the town in a predatory manner.

One local couple swore down they saw a “panther-like creature” strut across their garden wall one Wednesday evening, only for it return a few days later and slaughter their goose, chicken and two ducks.

The resident told the South Wales Argus, “"There was absolute carnage, and we believe there is a savage cat out there.”

It was believed their remaining animals were saved by an intervention of a five-year-old collie named Breeze from next door.

Another local also reported that as he passed a skip near Blaenavon Leisure Centre at midnight a big cat he believed to be a black panther leaping out.

Could the same big cat, or perhaps a distant relative have made its way down from up top to terrorise the Monmouthshire populace of Govilon?

Probably not. On this occasion, the evidence doesn’t quite stack up, and the roar that residents heard was more than likely an RAF fighter jet.