Reports of a lion loose in Essex U,K

reply to post by haven123


thought the same her husband says large cat, she seemed keen to stress lion. could be telling the truth though.

i just want these other photo's they took to be released.

reply to post by Catch_a_Fire


an elaborate hoax then

reply to post by haven123


Possibly, but i'd be very surprised. I cant see what they'd have to gain from it, they seem to be everyday people trying to get to the bottom of what they saw.

I can understand peoples doubt as soon as the words 'lion' and 'uk' are mentioned but its not like we dont have a vast stack of reports from the general area regarding sightings like this.

reply to post by Catch_a_Fire


i believe they saw and photoed something and maybe she really believes it was a lion, and maybe it really is.

but where hoaxes are concerned remember the boy who was suppose to be inside the getaway balloon? and he was actually hiding in the attic? and his parents knew all along. that was for attention and fame.

some people want fame and lavish being on t.v. it might not be the case here but to think people have nothing to gain from doing it........

He said: 'A man started running towards us yelling 'It’s a f****** lion!' He looked so panicked you knew it was not a joke.

Best quote evar...

Originally posted by neformore
reply to post by HangTheTraitors

 

Because, of course there is only one way to trap and sedate a lion and that's by blowing its head off, right?

No.

There are armed police and trained professionals looking for this thing - if it exists. Over here in the UK we prefer to let them do their job, rather than rush in like fools with all guns blazing.

I realise thats not your average rootin' tootin' Yosemite Sam all guns a blazin' "I hates that lion" mentality, but this is England and we're more civilised over here.

Still, thanks for the alarmist comments.

Well i wouldnt say we are more civilised rather they won't allow us to have guns

ifs its a threat they will kill it in a heart beat just like they do to dogs

reply to post by Catch_a_Fire


I think the scepticism arises from the fact that, despite a large number of sightings, there is next to no real evidence of alien big cats in Britain:

no big cats shot by farmers or police
no roadkill
no livestock taken as prey
no unequivocal video footage

I'll happily stand corrected on any of the above points. I've seen the couple interviewed on Sky News, who didn't look like they were part of any hoax. I still don't understand why they watched it for half an hour before alerting the police, and I can't image the farmer is best pleased, knowing that people let him go into his field despite being convinced that there was lion in it! It'll be interesting to see the 12 or so photographs they say they took.

It won't be very funny if they end up shooting the poor thing.

The pic looks to me like a male lion-whereas the couple interviewed said it looked like a lioness to them.
It does look like a male lion to me in the pic,and the tail seems to have the familiar tassle at the end,which house/wild cats don't have.

BTW,the cops have,according to the news recruited zoo keepers with tranq dart guns,so here is hoping the creature can be captured alive and unharmed.

It could of course be a great dane type dog,who has maybe got something tangled round its head,giving it that lion's mane look.
Not sure about the tail though-unless some idiot thought it would be fun to dress their dog as a lion...

I would have thought we would have had reports of dead sheep/cattle by now if it was a lion though.

Puzzling situation.

I've been following this, and I have to admit that I'm a little annoyed that despite there being supposed photographic evidence of this animal being seen we have not seen the pictures.

That makes me suspicious.

Presumably the authorities have seen them, and they agree that they are genuinely showing a lion, so why not release them to the public so we can see what these people reportedly saw and know that they're not wasting tax payers money chasing a phantom?

I fully accept that there are big cats in the wild in the UK. It makes sense that there would be because - just as in the US - many rich people here had exotic animals until licensing came in, many were forced to release them into the wild or be fined for having them.

So many wealthy people had these animals on their "estates" years ago, and they didn't know how to care for them or keep them secure. When you have so many animals like that in private hands there are going to be a few over the years that manage to escape and breed.

But, a lion? I can understand cheetah's and puma's etc, but I don't think there has ever been a case reported of a wild lion in the UK. There wasn't even a suggestion of where it could have come from either. You'd think anyone who had a lion would notice if one of them had disappeared.

Interesting story, but I'm calling it a hoax until I see those pics or hear something more concrete than "people said" and "I heard this".

EDIT:

Okay, just seen the pic of the lion, and I have to admit that is compelling. The dark image does remind me more of a big dog though. I wonder how manipulated that image is. If all they have done is lighten it and change the contrast then it is most definitely a lion, but the first image makes me think large dog.

I've seen the report on SKY news and I have to say that the witness that was being interviewed seemed to be telling the truth in that he believes that he saw a big cat. He seems completely genuine.

I had to laugh at his little smile when asked by the reported if he'd been drinking last night

When I read this article, it jogged a memory of reading about alleged big cats in the uk before. Apparently, large cats are sighted there from time to time.

Wiki Big Cats in UK

Apparently, there are many possibilities as to how these big cats could have ended up in the UK.

Releases - the most familiar explanation. Owners released cats rather than pay for licences under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976.

Escapes - from menageries and circuses from Roman times to the 20th century. Cats bred and were later added to by others released in modern times.

Imports - cats which have been brought into the country and secretly bred for baiting or hunting deer.

Hybrids - cross-breeding by different species to produce all the variations seen in big cat colours, sizes and shapes.

Hide-outs - a relict species of pre-Ice Age cat hiding out in the wild, native to Britain but yet to be classified by science.

Spectres - the cats are “daimons” of the same ilk as fairies and lake monsters, “thought-forms” brought into being by occult practices.

Cover-ups - the Government knows all about the big cats but fears panic and insurance claims if it admits their existence. Mysterious officials are said to remove evidence such as savaged livestock and carcases of cats run down on the roads or shot by farmers

Source

I think that escapes and releases are the most likely explanations. I can't imagine the shock of witnessing something like that, though!

ETA: After viewing the photo, and I am by no means any sort of expert or anything, that sure does look like a lion to me... Who knows, maybe he was turned loose or escaped even years ago and has been roaming the countryside ever since...?

I live in Essex, I think this report might be from my dad. He used to tell me there was a black panther in a forest back where I used to live as a child. If it is my dad making these reports just ignore him he is having you all on . Seriously though someone must have reported a lost Lion, unless the owner has made a fatal mistake and cannot report it.

It's over.....for now.

The hunt is off Essex police have called off the search.

Quoted by PA, an Essex Police spokesman said:

We believe what was seen on Sunday evening was either a large domestic cat or a wildcat. Extensive searches have been carried out, areas examined and witnesses spoken to; yet nothing has been found to suggest that a lion was in the area. We would like to thank the local community and holidaymakers for their patience and support throughout the past 24 hours as the police and media presence would have been somewhat overwhelming for them.

www.guardian.co.uk...

Double post.

Originally posted by HangTheTraitors
WOW, what a TERRIBLE SHAME that you all didnt have FIREARMS to eliminate this threat over there in the UK...

How many innocent families and children will be watched EATEN ALIVE because nobody had the ABILITY to eliminate this THREAT?

Poor defenseless UK.

What a moronic thing to say. So , logically (your twisted logic), if a lion escaped in the US (lets ignore the wild mountain variety for now....and wolves....and bears...) then the US children would be safe from harm from all the gun toting parents. LOGICALLY, full protection cannot be provided unless everyone is fully armed at all times especially on the school run. So you need lots of armed parents accompanying their kids to school or the school bus.

OR (my logic)

Let's let the authorites sort this out, be vigilant and report anything we see. That way we prevent morons with guns from shooting things that are not the target.

Poor US citizens so full of fear you think the only protection is a gun.....very sad and very 19th century.

Originally posted by fatdeeman
It looks real to me, this is the photo passed to the police/zoo etc with a lightened version for comparison:

Photoshopped for sure. Just google 'lion at night'

images.travelpod.com...

Reminds me of this TV show I watched where a drug dealer had a Lion as a pet and it escaped. I can't remember the name of the show but I googled "drug dealer lion" and found a real case of a dealer keeping a lion as a pet, as well as a tiger and bear.

www.thedailybeast.com...

Originally posted by mr-lizard

Originally posted by fatdeeman
It looks real to me, this is the photo passed to the police/zoo etc with a lightened version for comparison:

Photoshopped for sure. Just google 'lion at night'

images.travelpod.com...

The front legs of the UK lion are in a slightly different position., but that could be photoshopped aswel. It is very very similar that's for sure.

them picture were a hoax people,the search has been ended .www.dailymail.co.uk...[editby ]edit on 27-8-2012 by haven123 because: (no reason given)