Panthers
- Thread starter jon r
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What about keeping a reaaaally big pouch of catnip in your pocket just in case ?
Could this be a new must for the personal survival kit ?
Could this be a new must for the personal survival kit ?
Ok it sounds to me like there is a few out there! and plenty of people have seen them so why has no one got a picture? We should all carry a camera from now on. 
Well, usually because you catch them by surpise and they are gone in a flash. And usually in low light conditions, so it's not suprising really.
Luckily i find this whole situation more exciting than alarming however if i lived in the country with small kids then it might be a different matter.
If protection is or becoming an issue i would think that a high performance long range can of pepper spray would be the best method. Clipped to your belt with a quick release or something. Even better would be a pepper granade that you could grab and explode at point blank range if you found yourself under attack. Ok, you will suffer too but better that than being mauled and eaten.
Anyhow i wouldn't have thought that adults would be a target for panthers unless they put the panther in a position where it feels threatened. Children and livestock are at risk although teenagers can be issued with a sonic/panick alarm that you pull off your belt.
I would love to actually know they are out there like some of you lot. it would be like knowing there are aliens or knowing there is a god but on a smaller scale.
I think the question of killing them is a very difficult one and not one i am willing to commit to at this time without proper consideration and perhaps some better insight from some of you kind people. I think a debate on living alongside superior hunters like big cats would be very interesting. We could include wolves and wild boar.
If protection is or becoming an issue i would think that a high performance long range can of pepper spray would be the best method. Clipped to your belt with a quick release or something. Even better would be a pepper granade that you could grab and explode at point blank range if you found yourself under attack. Ok, you will suffer too but better that than being mauled and eaten.
Anyhow i wouldn't have thought that adults would be a target for panthers unless they put the panther in a position where it feels threatened. Children and livestock are at risk although teenagers can be issued with a sonic/panick alarm that you pull off your belt.
I would love to actually know they are out there like some of you lot. it would be like knowing there are aliens or knowing there is a god but on a smaller scale.
I think the question of killing them is a very difficult one and not one i am willing to commit to at this time without proper consideration and perhaps some better insight from some of you kind people. I think a debate on living alongside superior hunters like big cats would be very interesting. We could include wolves and wild boar.
Yes you mention that dangerous wild animals act but that was some years back.
This big cat business admittedly has been going on for decades, if not centuries
However its only really come to the fore in the last few years.
I dont think these are pets.
But they certainly, though wary of man, are not bothered by suburban enviroments.
How does this relate to leopards in other counties? There are urban coyote, and urban wolves, but are there urban big cats?
This big cat business admittedly has been going on for decades, if not centuries
However its only really come to the fore in the last few years.
I dont think these are pets.
But they certainly, though wary of man, are not bothered by suburban enviroments.
How does this relate to leopards in other counties? There are urban coyote, and urban wolves, but are there urban big cats?
The only reason that i mentioned the Dangerous wild animals act is that it is the commonly accepted reason for the sightings of large feline type animals
"The reason for the existence of big cats in the UK is the result of people keeping these big cats as exotic pets. When the 1976 dangerous wild animals act was brought in, many people could not meet the demands of the act, either due to the expense or lack of secure enclosures or public reaction to dangerous animals being kept as pets close to their homes. So consequently most of the big cats were released into to the wild illegally."
taken from www.bigcatmonitors.co.uk there are many many web pages dedicated to this
lou
"The reason for the existence of big cats in the UK is the result of people keeping these big cats as exotic pets. When the 1976 dangerous wild animals act was brought in, many people could not meet the demands of the act, either due to the expense or lack of secure enclosures or public reaction to dangerous animals being kept as pets close to their homes. So consequently most of the big cats were released into to the wild illegally."
taken from www.bigcatmonitors.co.uk there are many many web pages dedicated to this
lou
I still dont believe that.
We do know that a `few` pets were released into the wild.
not `most`.
Yes, you are right, `a commonly accepted reason`
But is it true?
I think as bushcrafters we should learn as much of the truth about the outdoors as possible.
If I believed what I have been told about our local woods, Id steer clear of them due to ADDERS.
(I have never seen an adder, BTW, though I would be a little more careful on heathland.)
We do know that a `few` pets were released into the wild.
not `most`.
Yes, you are right, `a commonly accepted reason`
But is it true?
I think as bushcrafters we should learn as much of the truth about the outdoors as possible.
If I believed what I have been told about our local woods, Id steer clear of them due to ADDERS.
(I have never seen an adder, BTW, though I would be a little more careful on heathland.)
jon r said:Ok it sounds to me like there is a few out there! and plenty of people have seen them so why has no one got a picture? We should all carry a camera from now on.
I've seen video footage from a local garage security camera - no doubt at all it's a big cat of some sort.
People get fed up of being ridiculed for talking about something that's taken for granted round here.
George
here in the fod it seems to be a dumping ground for exotica animals so far we have had wild boar dumped ,rumors they were herded out of a horsebox/cattle truck and in the first week forestry workers could herd them down the roads but now they will charge you ,mostly dog walkers though the sows with piglets are aggressive.these are breeding but numbers were cut down to start with by rta,s .poachers .a lot of welsh dog boys.and people renting shooting out on ebay etc,then this year a large snake ,a monkey .an escapee porcupine from a foster home and a couple of walkers and their terrier found a type of small south american deer/antelope. in the woods.also just this month big cats sightings .a panther charged a woman so she had to get in her car and the same one followed a dog out of bushes and tried to walk up to its owner.when we first moved here.i was bombing along a road and my missus said did you see that animal asleep on that branch ,i said no i was concentrating on driving .she said it looked like a large cat .when we got home and googled around the closest match was a jungle cat.and this was up a fairly large tree next to a road.
Im guessing your round my way where the blank panther rumours crop up every now and then. I reckon its true, family members have seen things they couldnt explain and they all pretty well know the difference between a big dog and a cat.
Hi: Of course, I live on the other side of the "Pond" from you. However, I have seen one live panther, cougar or puma as you prefer while hunting one day.
I was in a swamp on the north side of the Yellow River in North Florida. It was quite late. I could barely see anything in the remaining daylight. I heard footsteps behind me. Soon, a doe walked near. As she approached the tree I was in, a form sprang from the tree behind me and attacked the doe. It was as long or longer than she, not including it's tail. It went for her neck. She sprang upwards and the cat raked it along the spine with it's claws but missed the neck with it's jaws. The doe did the "white-tail thing" and bounded up as if on springs and escaped. The cat was enraged. It chased her perhaps 100 meters and gave up. However, as darkness descended, the cat remained near with me in a tree. It growled and moaned and made all sorts of aggravated sounds while I pondered my options, which were few. My truck was 4 klicks away. Eventually, I made my way down the tree singing "Dixie", with a 4 inch blade in one hand and a flashlight in the other and walked back to the truck. All the while, I looked behind me but the cat had disappeared......That was my one and only encounter. I am sure it was a panther due to it's large size and the sounds it made. I've seen plenty of wildcats (bobcats) and know this one was not one of those.
Tight Lines, Bruce
I was in a swamp on the north side of the Yellow River in North Florida. It was quite late. I could barely see anything in the remaining daylight. I heard footsteps behind me. Soon, a doe walked near. As she approached the tree I was in, a form sprang from the tree behind me and attacked the doe. It was as long or longer than she, not including it's tail. It went for her neck. She sprang upwards and the cat raked it along the spine with it's claws but missed the neck with it's jaws. The doe did the "white-tail thing" and bounded up as if on springs and escaped. The cat was enraged. It chased her perhaps 100 meters and gave up. However, as darkness descended, the cat remained near with me in a tree. It growled and moaned and made all sorts of aggravated sounds while I pondered my options, which were few. My truck was 4 klicks away. Eventually, I made my way down the tree singing "Dixie", with a 4 inch blade in one hand and a flashlight in the other and walked back to the truck. All the while, I looked behind me but the cat had disappeared......That was my one and only encounter. I am sure it was a panther due to it's large size and the sounds it made. I've seen plenty of wildcats (bobcats) and know this one was not one of those.
Tight Lines, Bruce
I posted a few weeks ago in response to a thread relating to a similar theme
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?p=213912#post213912
like i say, i may have been mistaken, but i had a good 5 second stare at the thing, and i was in disbelief but it was as large as life. The fact that it wasn't bothered about being next to the M5 has made it seem all the more unbelievable... but if i had to bet my life on it i'd still say it was a big black cat. I'll never forget it and i dont mind at all if everyone in the world finds it hard to belive, i wouldnt believe it myself unless i'd been there and seen it!
I think the evidence that they're out there is overwhelming, and i hope they become established in some way. We tell everyone else in the world not to kill their wild animals - but we did it!! Its great to feel a slight air of danger out in the sticks too, the uk can feel slightly 'tamed' sometimes dont you think?
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?p=213912#post213912
like i say, i may have been mistaken, but i had a good 5 second stare at the thing, and i was in disbelief but it was as large as life. The fact that it wasn't bothered about being next to the M5 has made it seem all the more unbelievable... but if i had to bet my life on it i'd still say it was a big black cat. I'll never forget it and i dont mind at all if everyone in the world finds it hard to belive, i wouldnt believe it myself unless i'd been there and seen it!
I think the evidence that they're out there is overwhelming, and i hope they become established in some way. We tell everyone else in the world not to kill their wild animals - but we did it!! Its great to feel a slight air of danger out in the sticks too, the uk can feel slightly 'tamed' sometimes dont you think?
I wouldnt like to think there could be a panther about to pounce on me at any minute! They need to be controlled! And children are in danger too. Surely children cant be stopped from going in the woods because some beast might eat them! :yikes:
