In 2005, Winnie was the name given to a supposed big cat sighted in the Veluwe region of the Netherlands.

Faulhaber's photographic evidence

Sightings

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At the beginning of June 2005, several sightings of a "puma" were reported to the police near Ede, Harskamp and Wekerom. Spoor was said to have been found.[1] The police closed down a large part of the Ginkelse Heide [nl] while in search of the animal in order to shoot it, as they felt that a puma could be a threat to people living in the Veluwe area. However, no trace of the animal was found. An additional search for the animal was performed by the organization Pantera,[2] but was also unsuccessful, although a further sighting was reported in September.[3]

 
Cage With No Puma in It, sculpture by Maarten de Reus in Apeldoorn

Explanation

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On September 21, 2005, an analysis by biologist Gerrit Jansen of high-resolution photos taken by wildlife photographer Otto Faulhaber explained the supposed puma as being a cross-breed between a European wildcat and a typical housecat. The cat was 1.5 times as big as a normal house cat, which may have convinced those who saw it that they were looking at a species of big cat.[4][5][6] European wildcats do not appear in the Netherlands in great numbers, but occasionally they can be seen.

Sculpture

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The story of Winnie inspired the Amsterdam artist Maarten de Reus to design a wire sculpture titled Kooi-met-geen-poema-er-in (Cage With No Puma in It), which was erected in a park in the Zuidbroek section of Apeldoorn. It was awarded the 2008 National Steel Prize and the 2009 National Building Prize.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Waar is de poema?". nueens.nl (in Dutch). June 15, 2005.
  2. ^ "Kattenexpert zit nu op de hei achter de poema aan". Trouw (in Dutch). June 18, 2005.
  3. ^ "'Poema' is terug op de Veluwe". Trouw (in Dutch). September 14, 2005.
  4. ^ Bolwerk, Paul (September 21, 2005). "Poema-mysterie eindigt met kater". De Gelderlander (in Dutch).
  5. ^ "'Poema' Winnie ontmaskerd". Metro (in Dutch). September 21, 2005.
  6. ^ "Winnie is not a puma, just a big kittycat". Expatica. September 21, 2005.
  7. ^ "De poema wint nationale bouwprijs". De Stentor (in Dutch). February 12, 2009.