The Formartine and Buchan Way follows the route of the former railway lines in Buchan; converted into a pathway and cycle lane at the beginning of the 1990s, it is attractive to wildlife and the animal frequents it. The creature was seen by a resident of Old Deer on two occasions on it in August 2011 just a few days apart. He described the animal as being timid yet not scared, larger than his own average-sized Labrador, solid black in colour with a bushy head and tail. According to a Scotland on Sunday newspaper reporter writing in 2006, the size of the beast varies from being like an Alsatian or Greyhound.
