British Big Cat

This encounter took place in the 70's. It's worth repeating because it took place in such a confined space.

There have been encounters within houses. A lady in Wales came home to find a black leopard asleep on top of a cupboard in her bedroom. She had left the windows open during very hot weather. It leapt past her and ran out of the house. A gentleman in London opened his front door to let in some fresh air in the early hours. A black leopard walked in and settled down on his sofa for half an hour. It got up and walked out when it had rested. In these cases the cat was able to leave easily.

It's a bit different when you are between the cat and the only exit.

My friend, I'll call him Vino Spillage, was exploring a mine with his older brother. Vino was sixteen. Mines in the area were being blocked up at the time and this was their last chance to see inside the old workings. Imagine yourself in their position to get the full feel of the experience.

There was only room for one at a time to pass freely down the passage. His older brother was in front with the flashlight. After travelling some way down the passage the older brother suddenly shouted "BACK OUT! BACK OUT!" Vino looked over his brother's shoulder and saw a black leopard in front of them. He didn't mention any hisses, snarls or threatening behaviour. I'll have to get a more complete story next time I see him. They left unscathed.

After a clear sighting you personally know that black leopards roam Albion. The alleged lack of evidence I'll leave to others to fret over. When you've seen them you've seen them.

This sighting confirms for me what many have suspected. Underground refuges are used by British black leopards. I suspect some leopards were tragically entombed within blocked up mine workings. Bat conservationists I met in a leopard hotspot didn't give anything away, but some careful answers they gave to my probing questions caused me to suspect they had made relevant discoveries underground.

There you have it. Another British big cat sighting that will carry no weight whatsoever to those who are committed to denial.

There have actually been several articles on this
en.wikipedia.org...
www.dailymail.co.uk...

This is very widely reported in the UK a lot reported in South west England, I remember there was quite a few reports in the 80s and 90s there is also hundreds of pictures floating around of these sighting, back in the late 80s me and my friends would always play in the woods building camps, I witnessed alone a large black cat crossing the freshly cut cornfields, but it was so far away I couldn't see much more than a dark silhouette of a large black cat, it was certainly much larger than your average house cat I doubt I would have seen it if it at all if it was your average sized house cat tbh, the woods was pretty much my second home as a kid that was the only time I ever see such a large cat

It's called the beast of Bodmin I think it's in Cornwall

originally posted by: Thefarmer
It's called the beast of Bodmin I think it's in Cornwall

That's the headline I remember, but it wasn't just the one incident there were many reports and pic from across the UK

There were also reports of leopards escaping from Zoos across the UK for many years


scotcats.online.fr...

www.dailymail.co.uk...

a reply to: Kester

Good story. I would have have needed a change of pants after that sighting.

I've traveled most of the UK, camping, living on the road ect. Thankfully I never seen any wide life, tracks included that would make me want to leave the area.

But at the back of my mind has always been the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act .

Wiki Dangerous Wild Animals Act

Edit to add: It's said that lots of big cats were released into the wild after being brought before the act came into force.
Harrods sold anything from Loins to elephants.

Harro ds pet shop

There have been several sightings of large cats where i live over the past 20 years I'l try and find some links for evidence.

Also iirc there was an indecent on Gordon Ramsay's "F" Word, a few ago too, where he had some lambs he was rearing up for the show and again. Iirc they were at Posh and Becks residence in the UK when they were attacked by a "large cat" and killed.

Again I shall do some research and see what I can dig up

S+F and I shall get back to you

Eta. Charlotte
Alien cat survey 2003-2006
One for the Nay Sayers

Incidentally I worked at Thurleigh and never saw any big cat tracks or spore.

I also stealth camp locally and would most certainly collect any evidence of large cats that I had found should I ever find any that is.

a reply to: murlock

Lol. The "Nay Sayers" local to me.

Hope he's right.

Just closing the door.

I'm in the midlands and I've seen one of these big cats twice. Its regularly spotted round here.
People say they were pets that were released years ago and have bred

a reply to: Kester

Glad they got out unscathed, and amazed as well! Guess the cat wasn't hungry! I'd think the question of if they were there was settled by the video of the one on the railroad tracks.

Denial is a strong drug, though. The die-hard skeptics can't be swayed, no matter what the evidence. This side of the pond, we have large black cat reports, as well, and some pics and video proven to be WAY bigger than house cats, but still the deniers claim they aren't real. Then again, there aren't "officially" any cougars east of the Mississippi, either (Save in Florida), but people see those all the time as well. I have family that has!

www.dailymail.co.uk... cumstances.html
Another to read up on

a reply to: ThirdEyeChakra

In the Daily Mail article they say lynx and leopards are not native to Britain. I don't think that is the case. The most recent lynx bones found by archeologists in a cave in Yorkshire were dated to around one thousand five hundred years old. Many people believe the lynx was never fully exterminated. The cleverest changed their habits to evade hunters. Their descendants today have bred with the numerous lynx that have escaped or been released over the years.

The leopard lived in Europe when there was still a land bridge connecting Britain to the mainland. There is no known reason for leopards not to have entered Britain at this time. Under the dense oak canopy they would have evolved into a melanistic form. Black leopards.

Other than that the Daily Mail article is unusually factual and serious. Thank you for linking it.

a reply to: ThirdEyeChakra

Not as good as the first article. "The Beast of..." and "The Wildcat of..." These labels are part of the cover-up. 'The' indicates singular and 'of' suggests living in one locality. This is part of the campaign to play down this issue. There are many cats of many types and the black leopards in particular can travel great distances.

Danny Nineham has seen tracks on his side of the Severn entering the water opposite Arlingham, an old ferry crossing. I believe it is an ancient migratory route. On my side of the Severn this route becomes the Perry Way, a Roman road, probably an ancient British track before the Romans arrived.

I believe black leopards can travel from the Forest of Dean across the river to the woods in the Dursley area and over Minchinhampton Common to the woods around Birdlip. They are often seen running across Minchinhampton Common. It's an opportunity for them to stretch their legs.

I was setting up a tripod on Cam Long Down above Dursley to take photographs of the sunrise several years ago when a black leopard appeared 280 yards in front of me. It was 200 yards away before I collected myself enough to realise I had to get the camera out of its case. As soon as I reached across and opened the camera case the leopard turned and shot into the undergrowth. Getting a photograph of one of these creatures is not easy.

a reply to: TritonTaranis

Thank you. It reminds me of a story a Leicestershire man told me. He was alone in the woods when he saw a black leopard sitting under a bush watching him. He was frozen to the spot trying with all his might to convince himself it was just a shape in the shadows, but he couldn't fool himself. It was a big cat and it was watching him. He was young at the time and, as so many of these stories go, he took off running as fast as he could. He reported it to the police who politely took all the details.

Often police are not so polite. I heard just the other day of a sighting that was greeted with ridicule by police. I had to explain that since there is absolutely nothing they can do it is in their interests to ridicule witnesses in order to keep down the number of reported sightings. They are busy people.

Your sighting is typical of an experience that is enough to convince you, but even if you had a decent camera the chances of a definitive photograph are effectively zero.

a reply to: Thefarmer

They live all over Albion. Even being seen in London, Cheltenham, Gloucester and I'm sure other towns and cities.

I once lived on a boat in Sailors Creek near Falmouth. One night a black leopard walked around our boat. Unfortunately the witness on the boat next door didn't tell me till morning by which time the tide had been in and washed away the paw prints.

There are many black leopards in Cornwall.

Here's a Freedom of Information request i did a wee while back regarding a Big Cat sighting In Scotland..
The story told By the Pilot/Officer..
"We were search for a Missing female in and around the Arthurs seat area of Edinburgh. We had officers on the ground searching also. We spotted a Large heat source and guided a officer (female) towards the source. The officer got to within 30' of the Target when the target got up and started walking away. we asked the officer to stand still...it was a Large cat.

Make of that what you will, I heard the Pilot/Officer talking about the sighting a few years ago on the Radio and decided to do the FOI.

request 'Big Cat, Police Helicopter footage'.

Date: 21st August 2013


Our Ref: IM-FOI-2013-0859
FOI Central Processing Unit

173 Pitt Street
Your Ref:
Glasgow
G2 4JS
Email: [Police Scotland request email]



By email:
[email address]



Dear Mr ~##########

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002
SUBJECT: Big Cat, Police Helicopter Footage

I refer to your email dated 11th August 2013, regarding the above which has been handled in
accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).

For ease of reference, your request is replicated below together with the response.

Question(s)

I have heard reports from various sources regarding a Sighting of a Large Cat spotted by a
Police helicopter in the Arthur's seat Area of the Capital.

Reports say the Cat was captured on the Helicopter infrared camera whilst searching for a
Missing Woman.

This Incident was reported in the Media and discussed on Radio by one of your Officers, I
don’t have a name for the officer who was talking about the sighting on BBC Radio Scotland.
I don’t have a date of the Incident either, but my guess would be 4-5 years ago.

Could you confirm that the sighting was reported by the officers involved and is the Video of
the incident available to view by the public?

Response

I have made enquiries into the incident, which you mention in your e-mail. I have been in
communication with a Sergeant from the former Strathclyde Police (now part of Police
Scotland) who has advised me that helicopter officers made a sighting of something
resembling a “large cat” while searching the Arthur’s Seat area of Edinburgh for a female in
2006. He instructed the officer utilising the Infra-Red Imaging Device and a large heat-
signature was seen. The incident was not reported and police made no further enquiries.

It was this Sergeant who spoke to a national newspaper (The Sun) regarding the possible
sighting, after being asked to do so by his Chief Constable’s office. The press articles should
be readily available online or from library archives.

I can confirm that no video recordings were made at the time of this sighting. END.

NO Video recordings...Hmmmmmmm

a reply to: Soloprotocol

Yet another reason to love and support our constables. A constable who has been called out to many big cat sightings has written about the emotions he goes through when approaching alone and unarmed in an attempt to confirm a sighting.

In one case a witness who had lived in Africa heard a cat make a kill close to his remote cottage. He immediately called the local constable who came straight out. They walked out in the darkness towards where the sounds had come from. Realising they were being a bit hasty the man who had heard the cat said, "What do we do if we see it?" The constable replied, "Let's go back to your house and have a cup of tea and talk about it".

I've heard of armed police getting a big cat in their sights but not taking the shot because they couldn't be sure of a kill. The non-fatal shooting of an animal suspected of being dangerous will most likely make it dangerous.



I'm sure I've seen stills of infrared footage of a leopard in Wales taken from a police helicopter. Many police have seen black leopards, driving around at night makes sightings much more likely. It's so expensive and time consuming to carry out a search they would usually prefer we don't inform them unless the animal has behaved threateningly. We suffer if the resources aren't there when we need them.

Shooting one cat would cost a fortune and make no real difference to the overall population. Unless that particular cat had proved dangerous it would have no benefit to anyone. What else can we expect the constables to do? Pepper spray them and put them in handcuffs?

I've seen an enormous leopard near Dursley. It may have been the cat known as Boris or one of his cousins. If something that size turned man eater we'd have a big problem on our hands.

Millions of pounds spent on a search could turn up nothing or next to nothing. I can understand why the constables would prefer not to feed our interest. It's a contentious issue. People become irrationally scared when they hear a big cat is in their area. The truth is it could be three feet away from you without you being aware or in any real danger.

Thank you for your very interesting post.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: Soloprotocol

I know i shouldn't but...lol..Hunter Guy Screamed like a big girls bottom.

a reply to: marc72

I'll check up on the pant changing necessity next time I see him. Could this be one of the reasons so many people keep their stories to themselves?

The scrapman near Aberaeron is one of those who turned his black leopards loose when he was told he would have to comply with the '76 Act.

Some people were conned when they were faced with the possibility of having to have their pets put down. They were approached by a man who said for a fee he could have them re-homed. He took the money and the cats then turned them loose.

There was a loophole that allowed the animals to be released legally when keeping them without the required standard of housing was illegal. This loophole was taken advantage of before it was closed.

a reply to: murlock

I've found droppings and kills but never attempted to use them as evidence. When a convincing case is made for black leopards in a particular area hunters will appear in that area. There are many reasons this is not a good thing.

I'm told if you bag up droppings and ask for government interest they say, "Thank you for the bag of cat sh*t. We don't have the time or resources to study it". However you can dissolve it in water and collect the hairs that float to the surface. Cats clean themselves by licking, the enormous leopard I saw licked his paws twice after being flushed out of his lair by torrential rain. You can then study this hair yourself under a microscope and compare it to photographs of various animal hairs.