British Black Leopard Seen In Hertfordshire

www.hertsad.co.uk...

“jet black, with a big long black tail, and a club like head, bounding through the field”

The length of the tail is often commented on.

. . . he could not spend too long looking because he was driving.

As usual the chances of a decent photograph were zero.

I expect one or more British ATS members will add their own stories. Without photographic confirmation because the sightings are usually fleeting, distant, or in poor light conditions.

The most recent sighting I heard of first hand was from a shooter in Durham. I'd slept in my car on a frosty night. The men who organised the local shoot had seen me the night before, realised I'd been somewhere at the crack of dawn, then saw me back at my car as it became full daylight. Obviously they were suspicious of me. With typical Northern hospitality they brought me a cup of coffee and engaged me in conversation.

The talk was first of deer being savaged by dogs, on a previous occasion they'd seen me with a dog that could easily be thought to be a deer poachers dog. Then we talked about feral pigs/wild boar. Then we got onto big cats. "Tell him" said one. The other then recounted his very close sighting of a big cat only yards from where I'd been sleeping.

He had previously cut back a branch at the side of the road. The cat walked in front of the stump of the branch so he had a very clear indication of it's size. It was too dark to be sure of the cat's colour, but it was certainly a cat. As usual the chances of a convincing photograph were zero.

There's an official cover-up going on. One of the techniques used is to create false 'experts' whose actual function is to riducle the whole issue. You'll know these people when you see them. It's best to let the whole issue rest. There's no advantage I can see in fighting a well financed cover-up.

Interestingly the shooters said "If lynx are reintroduced the farmers will shoot them". Something for the rewilders to consider. Freshly released lynx don't have the knowledge to avoid being shot. We have breeding populations of various types of cats. There's no need for reintroductions.

Medway Police actually caught one on Camera a few years back.

I was talking about in the school staff room the other day. All of us teachers had spotted a black puma like cat.

I think they are descendants from released big cats in the 70's when the dangerous animal act was brought in and made a lot of peoples pets illegal. Basicaly we have a colony of Pumas.

a reply to: Kester

I wanna believe!!!!

But where is the physical evidence?
The road kill?

Someone I know saw a black beast with red eyes, at night in the undergrowth.
I said "nothing has red eyes, that was black shuck."

But nothing bad happened.

a reply to: Kester

My big cat experience wasn't so much a sighting. We were all about 16/17 years old (this happened back in 1993 before mobile phones), we were camping just outside of town, here beside the River North Esk, not far away from a popular fishing spot.

During the night one of the group heard something brush up against his tent and around the same time all of us heard something move, quietly, through the undegrowth. We all lay there in our sleeping bags, not saying a word and then we heard the noise. It was very brief but we all agree, to this day, that it sounded a lot like the sounds at the start of this vid, only lasting a few seconds...



None of us made a sound after that, I don't think any of us slept either. When we got out of our tents after sun up, we found one, massive footprint with a footpad and 4 toepads, right next to the little burn we pitched up beside. Two of us (one of whom had some plaster of paris) discussed going back to get a print to take to the local museum, unfortunately the heavens opened before we'd cycled halfway through town and we cancelled our little mission.

Since then there have been a fair few sightings in the County of Angus, here's a story from 2014, taken from the Dundee Evening Telegraph that talks about 19 sightings reported to the Police.

Angus is a fairly small County, it's spread across 1356 sq miles, there's no cities, the biggest town (Arbroath) has a population of only 23,902, a very Rural County. Lots of places for these majestic beasts to hide and move without having to see people, or vice versa. Where they may have come from is a mystery but the general consensus appears to be that they are real....

a reply to: djz3ro

Have you told many people and have some of them told you their own stories?

The black cats often move along waterways. A policeman who's duties included following up reported sightings has described the uncomfortable feelings experienced when searching a riverbank for footprints.

Did any of you feel a fear that seemed not normal fear but more like the animal transmitting fear into you? Some witnesses, myself included, have experienced this.

So no actual evidence a part from someone's word. Who happened to be driving and couldn't really keep an eye on what he saw.

I saw a unicorn once at the end of a rainbow being ridden by a lepricorn who had two bags of gold strapped to the unicorn. But I was driving couldn't take a pic and I only saw it for a brief moment in time. Maybe I should write to my local newspaper

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Plenty of scat containing hairs. Plenty of kills. This is just one mans work here, there are others like him with freezers and bags full of evidence for those who care to look. www.thenaturalstuff.co.uk...

I don't personally wish for any proof to be made public because of the fear reaction. It's an interesting subject for some but a very uncomfortable subject for others.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: djz3ro

Have you told many people and have some of them told you their own stories?

Yeah, it's one of these stories that rears it's head on camping trips or among certain types of people and on a few occasions others have seen similar. I've heard of first hand accounts from Perthshire, Fife, the Lothians and more from Angus (Brechin & Monifeith). Also one of my friends from the camping trip became an officer with British Transport Police and had to follow up a sighting on British Rail property by a Dog Walker.

originally posted by: Kester
The black cats often move along waterways. A policeman who's duties included following up reported sightings has described the uncomfortable feelings experienced when searching a riverbank for footprints.

Did any of you feel a fear that seemed not normal fear but more like the animal transmitting fear into you? Some witnesses, myself included, have experienced this.

We all felt pretty scared when we heard the movement outside our tent, even more when we heard the growl. I have felt what you describe too but not in relation to our cat experience. This was something else entirely that I never laid eyes on. I've written an account elsewhere on here of it, I'll go find it and edit in a link so I'm not going off topic with it as this was certainly no Big Cat...

originally posted by: Kester
www.hertsad.co.uk...

There's an official cover-up going on. One of the techniques used is to create false 'experts' whose actual function is to riducle the whole issue. You'll know these people when you see them. It's best to let the whole issue rest. There's no advantage I can see in fighting a well financed cover up

So why do you think there is a cover up going on, what's the purpose of hiding big cats in the UK
Surely with litigation, denying the possibility is tantamount to an obscene legal issue for a county/council
What purpose does a cover up serve, protect the big cats, lull people into a false security, for what reason

They are only big cats, not aliens or spirits, just animals, why cover it up.
Didn't some special forces from the UK openly acknowledge killing big cats recently, according to ats?

I don't see a well financed cover up, just lots of doubters and no empirical evidence of their existence, though I do,see big stories in the msm
Bit like big foot.
Nessie, now that's a cover up, dinosaurs living today, that's the stuff they hide, not big cats

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Plenty of scat containing hairs. Plenty of kills. This is just one mans work here, there are others like him with freezers and bags full of evidence for those who care to look. www.thenaturalstuff.co.uk...

I don't personally wish for any proof to be made public because of the fear reaction. It's an interesting subject for some but a very uncomfortable subject for others.

That's an interesting link.
Do you know if any of the scat or hair has been DNA tested?

Your comment on fear reaction makes me think again of black shuck and other beast legends.
The person who saw the red eyes said they felt fear when they saw it. A visceral type of fear. Freaked them out.

a reply to: Raggedyman

Several reasons for the cover-up.

There's the fear reaction. People arming themselves or demanding protection. I've personally known a very unsavoury character arm himself after stumbling across a big cat. Multiply that across the whole of Britain and you've got a danger that would deserve it's own investigative unit. It's not a good reaction and would create more public risk than the cats present.

People fearing a walk in the woods is another reaction I've seen. Not good for tourism.

Having been raised by scientists I can see clearly how it would rock faith in scientific knowledge generally if a major predator or two were suddenly added to the natural history books. That's why the limited hangout is being pushed, that they all came from recent releases. Some have been here since the ice age, others came later by various means. That revelation would create general distrust of 'scientific facts'.

a reply to: Kester

Here's the link to the post I was talking about.

originally posted by: ThePeaceMaker
So no actual evidence a part from someone's word. Who happened to be driving and couldn't really keep an eye on what he saw.

I saw a unicorn once at the end of a rainbow being ridden by a lepricorn who had two bags of gold strapped to the unicorn. But I was driving couldn't take a pic and I only saw it for a brief moment in time. Maybe I should write to my local newspaper

Except Big Cats are actually real. I'd love to read the response if you did go to the papers with this, go on, entertain us :p

a reply to: Mandy555

What I've been told about hair analysis by another well known expert is this. You can relatively easily find scat once you have some knowledge and are prepared to spend time looking in the likely places. Because cats clean themselves by licking this scat contains some of their own hairs. You can send scat to government bodies and they return it with a polite not saying no time or resources for this. So you soak it and the hairs float out. Studying these hairs under a microscope gives a clue as to the identity of the animal. Experts at hair identification will frequently tell you they are from a 'leopard type cat'. You're still no closer to undeniable evidence. How can you prove beyond reasonable doubt the source or chain of custody?

I don't know what DNA analysis costs but if you could afford it and tried I expect you will find you have raised red flags and your attempts to prove something will have come to the attention of those who know how to lean on analysts who depend on grants and/or professional reputation. I wouldn't trust any test results to be honest.

a reply to: Kester

Sweet! Black Leppard are back together??!! I miss 80's rock!

LOL

So that is what, 4 times, 5??, this has been spotted? I started to believe on the second! Now with you having first second hand accounts... I think a foot print will show up first. Then a blurd photo. Then a huge debate. And some poor sap will hit one with his auto and everybody will get mad at the bloke!

a reply to: Kester
Apologise to you Kester I've took my foul mood that I'm in at the minute and used it to write my reply. It wasn't directed at you what so ever. It is an interesting story especially as I enjoy disappearing into the wilderness of the UK a lot. If I was to see something like this I'd probably mess my underwear

Thanks for posting I'll be keeping an eye out for wildlife in the Scottish highlands over the easter holidays

originally posted by: djz3ro

originally posted by: ThePeaceMaker
So no actual evidence a part from someone's word. Who happened to be driving and couldn't really keep an eye on what he saw.

I saw a unicorn once at the end of a rainbow being ridden by a lepricorn who had two bags of gold strapped to the unicorn. But I was driving couldn't take a pic and I only saw it for a brief moment in time. Maybe I should write to my local newspaper

Except Big Cats are actually real. I'd love to read the response if you did go to the papers with this, go on, entertain us :p

I've got a few papers lined up one is The Sun .. but I've got to include a female celebrity getting her breasts out for them to take any notice

a reply to: djz3ro

Possibly doesn't fit your experience but I've read two accounts of British black leopards running in the dark and the witnesses both thought it was a horse pounding towards them. It's said the cats can leave a scent trail then on subsequent journeys they go into a trance running fast along this trail. One time the witness was on the trail and the cat became aware of him at the last moment and swerved aside. The other witness was to the side of the trail and the cat sped past.

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

I'd rather you took your foul mood on me than do what a friend did last night. Drank a bottle of whiskey, took pills, then hung himself.

Cheer up everybody, if you're lucky you might run into a snarling leopard.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

The reported sightings were once collated and it took me days to read them all. Then that source disappeared from the net. Only a fraction are ever reported.