'Big cat' spotted in Somerset, UK.

c'mon folks its a chocolate labrador and a chubby one at that!
I would have thought Lagomorphe being a vetinary surgeon wouldve spotted that straight away.

a reply to: Jimmycrackerson3

It's extremely unlikely in Somerset but not impossible.

a reply to: Jimmycrackerson3

bears in the uk, are you dumb?

originally posted by: MissConstrood
c'mon folks its a chocolate labrador and a chubby one at that!
I would have thought Lagomorphe being a vetinary surgeon wouldve spotted that straight away.

Actually, I didn't want to say that it was in fact a Pink Gerbil disguised as a giant hamster, but "shhhhhh" keep the secret to yourself.

Warmest

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originally posted by: dan121212
bears in the uk, are you dumb?

There's a bear shop in Paddington Station.

The first thing on my mind was a black panter, but also a black Boerboel you can do a Google search on that
I have a brown (gold) one and his moves and walk looks cat like (or lion)

I am going to vote this animal in the picture is a black jaguar. Now, have no clue if this is really in UK or even photoshopped into a photo? Is it possible someone released a pet? A zoo animal would be reported but a private individual may fear repercussions and keep quiet.

a reply to: paraphi

haha your funny, its a Paddington bear shop

When I first look at the photo I see the outline of a big cat. However it's built like a mastiff type dog. It's either a tank or overweight

originally posted by: blackbird9393
When I first look at the photo I see the outline of a big cat. However it's built like a mastiff type dog. It's either a tank or overweight

Same as I thought, just not lithe enough. I've no idea what that is though, while I consider all the other pictures useless anyway and do not serve the obvious one..but then this is The Sun PPP..rag.

a reply to: blackbird9393

I remember hearing that a possible cause of wild large cats in the UK could be due to the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976

It was with the purpose of regulating the keeping of certain dangerous animals.
The story goes that due to the new regulation implemented with the Act, many owners of exotic large cats would have had to have them exterminated. Rather than do that, the owners set them free.

Seems plausible.

a reply to: AbdulAlhazred

not plausible at all, you obviously dont know much about the uk

the so called beast of bodmin in the uk lol people actually thought this was a jaguar

www.theguardian.com...

I've worked in agriculture and in various environmental management jobs in several different countries and continents over a 40 year career and have considerable experience of working with domesticated livestock and wild animals.

In the 1990s I was living in a rural area of Wales, for the geographically challenged that’s part of the UK. Working for a UK government department. During an inspection of a farm in the Black Mountains I observed several sheep carcasses as I walked with the farmer through an area of oak woodland. The carcasses were in different stages of decomposition from fresh to several months old. The freshest carcass showed signs of having been killed by trauma to the neck area. Seeing dead sheep on a farm in Wales isn’t unusual, but there were a few things that didn’t make sense. The farmer didn’t own any sheep, the nearest were out on the open mountain several fields away. It was highly unlikely the sheep would have broken through several fences to get to where they died so they would have had to have been killed on the open mountain and dragged to the woodland. There are no large predators in the UK capable of dragging adult sheep across fences like this. Foxes will kill lambs, but not healthy adult sheep. Feral dogs may kill sheep in large numbers, but this wasn’t typical of a dog attack and they don’t drag sheep for hundreds of yards and over fences. Besides which in the UK you may occasionally get domestic dogs killing some sheep, but you don’t get packs of feral dogs roaming the countryside.

At one point during the inspection, we were walking in some scattered trees near the edge of the woodland. About 20 yards in front of us there were two patches of bracken separated by an open area of about 10 or 12 yards width. I observed a very large black cat moving from left to right across the open space. I had the impression it was trying to get away from us without attracting our attention. I asked the farmer what it was and he replied that it was the panther. What was really odd was that he was so used to seeing it around the farm he had become accustomed to its presence. It didn’t bother his cows or calves so it didn’t really worry him. He showed me some scratch marks on trees where he said it lay up during the day time.

I spoke to a couple of his neighbours who were also aware of the big cat. One told me it had killed two of his dogs, both German Shepherds, and he was trying to shoot it. Both told me that it was common knowledge locally that a breeding pair of big cats were in the area and were using the old air shafts of a disused colliery out on the mountain.

I never saw it again, but on several occasions in that area I heard an animal screaming at night. I’m very familiar with the sounds of native UK mammals and birds, and in my opinion, based on my experience in countries where these animals are found, it was the sound of a big cat.

I’d previously heard various big cat stories like the Beast of Bodmin and its Welsh equivalent, the Beast of Bont, but I’d never believed them. For some years following my encounter I carried out farm inspections for a government department all over Wales and the UK, and I used to take note of any big cat related story. In one area I became aware of unusual livestock attacks and deaths progressing southwards down a river valley over several years.

I think there’s a lot of anecdotal evidence out there, including my own, that there is a small breeding population of big cats in the UK. Most likely a result of releases from private collections in the 1970s when laws regarding the keeping of dangerous wild animals were tightened up. However, given the nature of the available evidence, I doubt their presence could be proven beyond reasonable doubt at the present time.

Just as an aside. As I said above I used to work for a UK government department. It’s been speculated there’s a government cover up of big cats in the UK, if that’s true then no one let me in on the big cat secret.

1970s? lol for that to work there would have to be a male and female set free in the same area, as they would need to breed to still be around today, very doubtful

and im sorry but sheep are everywhere in wales

Clearly it's a Bernstain bear. Or is it a Berenstein bear?

a reply to: [post=22234861]dan121212[/post

A large number of big cats were released from private collections in the UK during the 1970s. Life expectancy of a leopard or jaguar is 12 to 15 years. If released animals successfully bred in the wild and established small breeding populations in remote areas then running into a big cat in the early 1990s isn't too far fetched. As I said in my post, it appeared, based on anecdotal evidence from the farming community, that the range of these animals was expanding. I mentioned the Beast of Bont, a big cat story from the 1970s. Had a release taken place in that area in the 1970s, then the timing and location of the possible population expansion I tracked was entirely logical.