Rangers avert cat-astrophe

A WILDLIFE fan was stunned when the peace of his afternoon walk was shattered - by a cat jumping into a reservoir.

Geoff Eagle watched the fearless feline scare off birds from a slipway at Thrybergh Country Park - and then carry on chasing them in the water.

Geoff, chairman of the park’s friends group, said: “Suddenly, all the pigeons, geese, ducks and swans took flight all at once and I could see a cat on the slipway.

“What happened after was quite extraordinary.

“Not content to have chased off all the birds, the cat went into the water.

It managed to keep swimming for quite a while, trying to get to the other side. Then it became quite disorientated.”

The apparently feral cat was rescued by rangers after more than 20 minutes in the water.

Geoff said: “I don’t think it would have survived much longer. I think he’d used up eight of his nine lives by that point.”