OT: Big Cat Sightings

[Razorstrop]

Follow the link,,,,,,,,,,, http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,70131-13454037,00.html

Anyone claim to have seen anythign similar whilst out and about ?

Nearly meet time!
Mr Strop

 

[Dennis Mapletoft]

Dear Mr Strop,
I live near Rutland Water, and here we have sightings weekly, before my accident i was a Security officer on a local airfield, it had all the hall marks of a perfect big-cat area, but in nearly 3 years of nights i didn't see so much as a tail, i would realy like to sight one of these beasties, around here alsorts of reputable people have had sighting, police men, post men, milk men, a local female school teacher even a local Magestrate, but sadly not I, we even have a local phone number hot line (got it on me mobile)..if you want the number PM me.. yours Den

 

[lignum vitae]

Good friend of mine was out on Bodmin about 2 years back- roughly 2 miles north of the A30 on Westmoor (which is actually E of Rough Tor and Brown Willy, the moor's highest peaks). It was about 1 am and foggy (he was sober too!). Whilst stopped for a nav faff he saw it move through the edge of the fog which was goldfish bowling around him. It saw him but continued on, he described it as 2-3' high to the shoulder at a range of less than 10m. He's an extremely level headed bloke and didn't mention this for over 6 months thinking we'd be incredulous. True story.

 

[Razorstrop]

I just started this thread as it caught my interest, and us bushcrafters are probably the right people to come across one of those things.

I imagine there a quite a few more stories of coming across wild cats that alledgedly don't exist in this country. There must be a tracker or two out there who things they have trailed one ??

Lets see who knows what

Big cat fan
Mr Strop

 

[Dennis Mapletoft]

i just remembered seeing a programme on tv, 2 trappers from canada came over to look for the Big Cats, if i remember right they said all they found was dog tracks, they even set traps i think it was called *alien cats* or somthing like, i remember one bit in it when this trapper went through a load of brambles, got scratched to blazes, they were shown all the evedence etc. but still said it was all dogs, another thought i've had, before Hunting was banned, surely the hunts would have come across one of these animals, they cover so much ground in a day hunting.. have a look here
http://www.britishbigcats.org/
yours Den

 

[Goose]

I have seen the programme you mean, Alien Big Cats, it is repeated regularly on discovery channels.
The blokes were two trappers from Canada that seemed to know what tehy were on about, I was a bit dissapointed that they never found anything, I would like to think there is something out there.
They were pretty scientific in their search,and open minded, a lot more so than the british big cat searchers, who made the evidence fit what they beleived.


One of the blokes had emigrated to Canada from my home town, Widnes, and when asked why his reply was, "have you been to Widnes!"

 

[Spacemonkey]

Yeah the program with the Tree Climbing Dogs!! Cool... so one trapper from Canada says they aren't cats in a certain area and that's it? Nah...

Bodies have been found, as have many footrpints which are quite distinctive to dogs, as have hair samples, and kill corpses that exhibit cat patterns not dogs. Not to mention numerous sightings by responsible people.

My dad saw one in the new Forest early one morning while on his bike, and I saw one and found much evidence of it in the village where I lived a couple of years ago within the M25! Spoke to the Big Cat Society about it and he agreed on the evidence as to what it was. My dog also agreed with me on a few occasions when walking very late at night in the fields. The cat would appear for a week or so every 4-6 months or so and leave evidence behind such as prints, kill evidence and black hair on fences above it's prints where it would cross a stream. When I saw it it was the classic black cat the size of a large dog. Definitely NOT a fox, I know what they look like, and not a killer deer either...

If you have an open mind and open eyes, it's amazing what you can see!

 

[Peewit]

Hello,

I am new - this is my first attempt - so please excuse me if I make a mistake.

I MAY have seen a big cat a couple of years ago in Benenden Kent. Except it wasnt all that big - but it was distinctive. I was out for an evening walk looking at the sping lambs when I saw a dark cat like creatrure at the side of the road looking at the livestock. It was about the size of a fox and very black. The feature I remember most was the rope like tail, rigid but curved. It didnt even look in my direction as it moved off. Very agile movement too. Cant rally say what it was - but it ceratainly was strange and it made me shiver!.

Best wishes, Peewit.

 

[Goose]

Yeah the program with the Tree Climbing Dogs!! Cool... so one trapper from Canada says they aren't cats in a certain area and that's it? Nah...

Bodies have been found, as have many footrpints which are quite distinctive to dogs, as have hair samples, and kill corpses that exhibit cat patterns not dogs. Not to mention numerous sightings by responsible people.

My dad saw one in the new Forest early one morning while on his bike, and I saw one and found much evidence of it in the village where I lived a couple of years ago within the M25! Spoke to the Big Cat Society about it and he agreed on the evidence as to what it was. My dog also agreed with me on a few occasions when walking very late at night in the fields. The cat would appear for a week or so every 4-6 months or so and leave evidence behind such as prints, kill evidence and black hair on fences above it's prints where it would cross a stream. When I saw it it was the classic black cat the size of a large dog. Definitely NOT a fox, I know what they look like, and not a killer deer either...

If you have an open mind and open eyes, it's amazing what you can see!

I am open minded, if anything I want it to be true, something nearly jumped out in front of the car today on the way through the lake district, as the bushes moved I thought it was a sheep so I hit the brakes.
Whatever it was must have turned as it got to the edge of the road, I saw the bracken part as soemthing ran through then a ginger/rusty colour flash as I was hitting the brakes. I stopped next to where the bracken was still moving but there was nothing there, no sheep and nothing moving through the bracken.
I dont know what it was it could have been a sheep, but it turned too quick whatever I saw turned 180 at the edge of the raised bank alongside the road then disapeared, and the colour was wrong.
It could have been a fox I dont know too much about how foxes move.

As I said I would like to beleive there is something strange out there and I would like to see it, the strangest thing that I have seen was a wallaby/kangaroo near Norwich, and I only beleived my own eyes when somebody confirmed that there are a few around there! I thought maybe I was seeing a deer sitting up begging or something!

 

[Razorstrop]

Just an idea to see if 1) theres interest and 2) if someone has the skills to facilitate it...........................how about a BCUK meet with tracking as the theme, the ultimate aim to see if we can find something that might be evidence, or even more hopefully track one of these supposedly non existant cats?

Anyone other then me fancy it?
Mr Strop


Goose, would be interested in hearing what you saw in your own words, is a phone call an option?

 

[bilko]

Just an idea to see if 1) theres interest and 2) if someone has the skills to facilitate it...........................how about a BCUK meet with tracking as the theme, the ultimate aim to see if we can find something that might be evidence, or even more hopefully track one of these supposedly non existant cats?

Anyone other then me fancy it?
Mr Strop


Goose, would be interested in hearing what you saw in your own words, is a phone call an option?

Yeah, allright but i'm not driving 7 hours to get there .
Seriously mate i have thought about something similar even though i know next to nothing about tracking.
I did take my RM book into the woods a while back though and possitively identified a blummin big CAT print. it freaked me out!
It was nearly as big as a dog print and nearly twice the size of a fox's. All of which i possitively identified as well. It had been raining previusly and the mud was just wet enough to hold a good wall to the prints.
Just imagine if one of us found one. Do you think it would stick around long enough for more than one of us to get a fleeting glimse?
I even thought that we could each chip in for one of those stealth cameras. Who sells them as i can't remember?
http://www.stealthcam.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=products.viewproduct&CategoryID=19

 

[mercury]

I think I saw one on Salisbury plain this august, something was walking along a ridge and at first glance I thought "big cat"

However I could well have been completely wrong as 5 minutes later a family came along the same ridge walking the family dog which looked like a spaniel , not at all like the animal I had seen earlier

 

[Neiltoo]

Im completely open minded as regards to the existence of so-called alien cats but does no-one else find it strange that in any news report like the one at http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/...3454037,00.html there is always a comment like "Superintendent Cliff Filer, divisional commander for Neath Port Talbot, said: "We would ask the public to be vigilant and report any sightings of a large cat to us immediately.
Why ? Ive never heard of any of these mysterious animals carrying off children or attacking people. Why is the immediate reaction of the authorities that they must trap it or shoot it - Live and let live.

On a related note Ive spent many weekends camping and canoeing in the fermanagh lakes - Ive never yet been lucky enough to see a Pine Marten despite the area having the largest population of them in Ireland. Many people who have lived there all their life have never seen one. - It doesnt mean they dont exist.

For more info see http://www.pinemarten.org.uk/

 

[Spacemonkey]

I agree, which is why I am reluctant to report to authorities any sightings. I didn't mention that I met someone in Wareham Forest a coupla weeks back, who thought I worked for the FC (obviously as i was wearing green and carrying a gert big rucksack...) and reported his sighting of a large cat a couple of hours before while cycling. It was a wildcat or bobcat according to him. He seemed a very sober individual and not the sort to make this kind of thing up.

 

[Dennis Mapletoft]

I like the idea of a gang of us going out into the wilds and catching a beastie
NOT realy but the idea of a tracking trip is a good one.. I am rubbish at tracking, i can tell a dog from a sheep and thats about it, so i am willing to learn all i can, if it is arranged i will endever to be there.. Yours Den

 

[bilko]

This has just peaked my interest again. Where can i find a site that gives reference to the different sizes that cats grow to?. Not all cats but more your house and semi wild cats ie the sort that we might be looking for. Not jags, lions, tigers, lep etc etc.
Also how does one find out how big an cat is in relation to it's paw track?
Short of luck or flushing the forest with noisey bushmen and waiting at the other side i think the only other options are stealth cameras with measurements attatched to nearby trees etc. Of course you could increase your chances by leaving plates of milk and gocat near the cameras (joke).
Seriously though, dead prey beit a rat or pigeon or rabbit would attract carniverous animals even if it's just rats. Which in turn may attract cats!

 

[Spacemonkey]

Don't know if either of these might help?

http://www.britishbigcats.org/

http://www.ukbigcats.co.uk/

 

[bilko]

Thanks for the links.
Incredibly interesting! although i feel that both sites need a little more factual information and a little less "nessy"
According to the tracks in the second link, i have found the track of a puma! .
It would have been helpful if they had showed a house cat print in comparrison though.

 

[Faeden]

Hi all

I have seen a large big cat in the English countryside. I was with a friend driving home about 10 years ago, it was summer and about 11:30pm, we where driving home from a friends in Basingstoke, and took the country roads home through Greywell. Half way through our journey I spotted a dark figure in the middle of a moonlit field, I asked my friend to stop the car, which he was already doing as he had seen it too, he reversed up and pointed his car head lights at the dark figure, its eyes where illuminated green with the cats eyes effect, at this time I did not think it was a big cat, maybe a deer or large dog, then after about 10 or so seconds it turned and started to move away, it was then that I realised it was a large black cat, as it pounced or bounced away just like a cat, and into the bush on the other side of the field, I also saw it had a tail. I told my friend to go around the dirt track at the edge of the field, as it lead to where the cat had vanished into, we both got out and searched, but found nothing, after about a few minutes it dawned on us that we where venerable searching for a huge black cat in the dark countryside, and came to our senses and become nervous and got back into the car, I cant say for sure, but I am pretty certain it was a panther sized cat.

I did not inform the authorities, and I never will, as there attitude is kill them, and I want no part of that. We have to remember that its not the cats fault they are here on our shores, it was humans that took them out of there natural habitat for our own amusement against there will just so we can make money off them, and then where released out into the UK countryside when it became illegal to keep them.

There is little evidence to support they have attacked humans, as they are clever enough to stay well out or our way, as humans are the most dangerous animals of all. I say good luck to them all, and I hope they stay well out the of humans grasp for many years to come.

Take care
Faeden

 

[andyn]

Yup there have been a number of sighting of puma/panthers in the basingstoke/winchester/New Alresford/Alton area between 1994 and 2002, but the seem to have all but dried up now.

I would have thought though that any large cats that were released by owners due to the 1976 dangerous wild animals act would have died of old age by now, so any sighting these days must be ones due to breeding????

I have seen a deer before in Spearywell wood near Mottisfont in Hampsire that looked like either a very sick and twisted individual had repeated stabbed it and dug out most of its chest/stomach and throat or some animal had attacked and been eating it. I can't say that I'm qualified to say which i think it was. But i reported it to the police either way. Never heard a whisper back from them about it.

I find it difficult to understand people who say that there aren't big cats in Britain. The country must be idealic for them, plenty of cover and livestock/deer/rabbits/badgers/phesants everywhere. The only thing they really have to avoid is us, and like so many other species out there i'm sure they have few problems doing that.

I'm almost 100% convienced that places like the New Forest, South Downs, Dorest and Devon have populations of large cat in them so would have thought that the North of England would be just as suitable areas for larger cats to live and breed, if not more so.

I just hope one day someone can prove it.