British Big Cat

a reply to: Guitargeorge

It still amazes me how many people have seen them. In the street I used to live in most people had seen them at some time.

It's a lot more complex than just released pets. There are the native lynx and melanistic leopards. According to the 'experts' lynx were exterminated long ago and the leopards were never here. That's their story.

There are also the smaller cats used as ratters on the old sailing ships. Romans brought big cats here, there must have been escapees. I suspect the Romans had a black leopard breeding programme, their value was so high it must have been attempted.

The entire story is very complex and doesn't explain the American and Australian big black cats.

originally posted by: Kester
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.

I saw one a couple of years back in medway, not the first sighting. I did take a picture but it was a old mobile phone camera at long range so all your saw as a big black blob.

Still theres a source were these cats could have come from.

In the 60's before the dangrous animals laws were brought in it was all the rage amougnst the wealthy to buy big cats, at lot ended up dumped when the poor things grew too big. On top of that when laws were brought in even more got dumped. It would only take one breeding pair.....

As for not attacking anyone yet?

Why would they?

Long as they have food they wont prey on us and most cats prefer to run rather than stand and fight.

There creatures are obviuosly sparelys populated to human encounter are rare and food likely to be in large supoly.

Foxes, deer, sheep and even trash are in huge supply.

a reply to: Kester

I remember one on the Scottish news not that long ago:

An off-duty Ministry of Defence police dog handler has taken a video of what he claims is a panther-sized big cat.
Pc Chris Swallow was helping a friend with their garden in Helensburgh, Argyll, when he spotted the black creature on a nearby railway line.

BBC Scotland

A nice account - just for the record, I know 2 groups of long term friends that have seen black/dark brown large cats (i.e. way way bigger than domestic cats, described as roughly Lynx sized) in the south west of England, both some 15-20 years ago at least.

I also agree that these were pets from private menageries/individuals that escaped or were let loose, most likely due to changes in the law. It would be nice to suppose we had a secret native big cat species, but I just don't think that we have the space/wilderness to make this possible, though no doubt some released/escaped cats would find a suitable partner for breeding.

a reply to: skalla

Space may not be a issue. Food availability is normally the key to territory size and due to our wolf population be exterminated any big cat species would be unchallenged at top of the food chain. Deers, foxes and even domestic animals are all uncontested food.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes
Reports of injuries here are very rare, fortunately.

Occasionally a skeptic has an encounter themselves, then they become wide-eyed. Some very vocal sceptics may be actually deliberately defending the cats by deflecting attention, this is suspected of one of the skeptics on YouTube.

There are many reports of cougars outside their 'official' boundaries and big black cats such as we have here. In Australia the same sightings are made, cougars and black cats. It's a complex subject with few easy answers.
www.outdoorlife.com...
www.australianbigcats.com...

a reply to: crazyewok

Some people have admitted to turning them loose. At the time it wasn't illegal.

The value of black leopards remained high while other cats were in plentiful supply. This is one of the reasons the '76 Act can only be a partial explanation. Big black cats make up the majority of the sightings yet were a minority of the releases. Some black leopard releases are documented, the Aberaeron scrapman's two black leopards for example.

a reply to: crazyewok

Just an anecdotal aside, but i know a great many woodsmen; and a fair few farmers, hunters, falconers and former gamekeepers etc; they tend to be sceptical that we have an ancient/native population but support the released/escaped theory.

One of these actually had a rescued beaver escape from his own property, no doubt currently building dams and confusing the heck out of folk in the the Bridgenorth area!

ETA: deer are contested by humans, gamekeepers would be well aware of such kills

a reply to: crazyewok

They don't like prey that fights back and the advise is always to fight back with everything you've got if you are attacked. The most dramatic account of this I've heard is a mother across the pond who fought a puma for half an hour. When a rescuer arrived and shot the puma she asked, "Are my children safe?" On being told "Yes" she collapsed and died.

More often the cat will run when it realises it could get hurt.

Most injuries reported here are relatively minor. The lady in Scotland who was bitten on the thigh won't discuss it with anyone now. She feels she was set up by at least one reporter who claimed he wanted to help. She's understandably sick of the ridicule. She fought it off with a bunch of keys.

Don't forget rabbits and badgers as food for British big cats. One man who went to investigate what he though was a murder in progress found a black leopard with a screaming badger clamped in its jaws.

a reply to: skalla

In not too sure there a woods near me with many wild deer. You would not notice if a few died.

Of course stealing them off a manor estate is a different matter but out in the woods? Im nit too sure.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: crazyewok

They don't like prey that fights back and the advise is always to fight back with everything you've got if you are attacked. The most dramatic account of this I've heard is a mother across the pond who fought a puma for half an hour. When a rescuer arrived and shot the puma she asked, "Are my children safe?" On being told "Yes" she collapsed and died.

More often the cat will run when it realises it could get hurt.

Most injuries reported here are relatively minor. The lady in Scotland who was bitten on the thigh won't discuss it with anyone now. She feels she was set up by at least one reporter who claimed he wanted to help. She's understandably sick of the ridicule. She fought it off with a bunch of keys.

Don't forget rabbits and badgers as food for British big cats. One man who went to investigate what he though was a murder in progress found a black leopard with a screaming badger clamped in its jaws.

Yup I forget about badgers and rabbits. In fact I should have guessed rabbits!

The one I countered did not seem remotely interested in me and was out in the evening on some scrub land were hundreds of rabbits live. Normal they swarm that area of land but that evening there was no rabbits to be seen.

a reply to: skalla

I won't name him because I don't know if he's made this public. One of the experts told me the strangest sighting he's heard of was a black one, a brown one and a white one wearing a collar all walking in line. He takes reports all the time and is a good judge of who is telling the truth about what they saw. He just doesn't know what to make of that particular sighting.

Some sightings are certain to be releases and escapees, but this goes back long before the '76 Act that required expensive accommodation to be built. The '76 Act was a catalyst for many releases but it is only a small part of the overall story.

This is what inspired me to do a FOI....My Home town. As someone who spends a lot of time in these areas i'm pretty keen to know what might lurking in the bushes, as a Fisherman and hunter it keeps me on my toes.

Panther sightings

a reply to: crazyewok

A friend was a passenger in a car when the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes and said "Big cat!" They got out and went to the side of the road to look for it. Rabbits came running out of the field and ran past their legs, seemingly oblivious to them. Although he didn't see the cat himself he felt the atmosphere that many witnesses have reported and he was amazed by the rabbits behaviour.

A man cutting nettles in an orchard stopped and looked behind him just as a black leopard walked out of the hedge and sauntered across the orchard. It payed no attention to him and the sheep and donkey grazing in the orchard payed no attention to it. If he hadn't turned round he would have never known it was there.

I've read that in some parts of the world the accepted way to deal with an unexpected bear encounter is to raise your hat and say "Good morning uncle!" Something similar is probably the way to react if you meet a big cat here. There are even stories of people befriending them.

a reply to: beansidhe

I notice he says, "I've heard stories about creatures like this moving about the countryside, but never really believed them before." A policeman near here never believed the stories, until he saw one in his own garden. I find it strange that many people actually put effort into not believing when they could more easily keep an open mind.

a reply to: crazyewok

Not long ago I was shown photographs of a large dog that had been killed by being bitten on the muzzle and suffocated. The man showing me the photographs had put his finger into the tooth holes. Big teeth and a powerful animal to do that. That dog wasn't eaten but others have been, and cats. There was a jogger who found a fresh collie leg on a woodland path and suddenly discovered he was a sprinter.

a reply to: skalla

There are more deer here now than at any time in recent history. According to the BBC "There are now more deer in the UK than at any time since the last Ice Age." www.bbc.co.uk... (With their propensity for accuracy that could mean three or four.)

Around here every little copse and even some of the thick hedges contain deer.

I know it's not popular to suggest we've had leopards here since the ice age but I believe it is possible. Added to that the Roman introductions then the more recent escapes/releases. The population of big cats is exploding alongside the deer population. With improved lighting, more car use, more people walking in the countryside and better communications and education reported sightings are up.

With this situation the risk of a child being taken is increasing and this is what drives some experts to attempt to educate the public.

a reply to: Soloprotocol
scotcats.online.fr...
"Cornwall fisherman attacked by alleged black leopard that tried to bite his neck - he was wearing a head torch and the battery pack deflected the bite."

Ever since my brother-in-law mistook me for a burglar and aimed his air rifle at my head torch I've been a bit wary about wearing one. Perhaps I should rethink.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: crazyewok

A friend was a passenger in a car when the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes and said "Big cat!" They got out and went to the side of the road to look for it. Rabbits came running out of the field and ran past their legs, seemingly oblivious to them. Although he didn't see the cat himself he felt the atmosphere that many witnesses have reported and he was amazed by the rabbits behaviour.

A man cutting nettles in an orchard stopped and looked behind him just as a black leopard walked out of the hedge and sauntered across the orchard. It payed no attention to him and the sheep and donkey grazing in the orchard payed no attention to it. If he hadn't turned round he would have never known it was there.

I've read that in some parts of the world the accepted way to deal with an unexpected bear encounter is to raise your hat and say "Good morning uncle!" Something similar is probably the way to react if you meet a big cat here. There are even stories of people befriending them.

I got a brief stare from the leopard but it wasn't hostile., it was more like it was just taking in its surroundings like cats do As I said I think he/she was more focused on the rabbits.

At the time I was at uni with a ex African safari ranger and he had may encounters with big cats, and he said as a rule you don't have much to fear unless you corner it and if you do that you deserve what you get. Humans just not on the menu and even tigers and lions they have to be pretty starved to try.

Personally I love cats, and quite happy to share my land with a colony of leopards and lynx, as long as they leave me alone and I them.