Earlier in the year, the Herald was inundated with sightings of a large puma or panther like creature that had been on the prowl in the woods around Kirkton.

However the reader, who does not want to be named, has come up with his own theory about what people are seeing.

He said: "Where I live you can see quite a bit of wildlife, which I think comes from Condor and on Wednesday morning I saw a jet black deer just outside my garden but I didn't have my camera with me.

"There was no mistake that it was a deer, as I think they are now getting braver and are starting to come out of the undergrowth and bushes.

"After I saw it I did some research on the Internet and there are such things as black deer so this could be what these sightings were of."

The man also claims the theory that it is a deer can be backed up by the fact that no livestock from farms has been reported as missing or killed.

He continued: "In reality if there were big cats in this part of Angus, there would be an abundance of dead sheep because if the cat was hungry it would need to eat.

"I have never heard of any farmers having any issues like that with livestock. I think if it was a cat we would have found a carcass by now.

"There is no other factual evidence that it is a big cat so my theory is that it could be a black deer.

"There are loads of deer up by Condor and I counted 15 when I was driving past there one day so it could be possible."

Roe deer are common throughout Scotland and occasionally can be black or brown in colour during the winter months.