It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

Policeman takes 'big cat' photo

page: 1
2
<<   2  3 >>

log in

join
share:

posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 06:48 AM
link   
Policeman takes 'big cat' photo




An off-duty Ministry of Defence police dog handler has taken a photo 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. The officer, who is stationed at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde, said the cat was as big as a Labrador dog.


Source


This is probably the most convincing photo of a large black cat in the UK i have seen to date, The cool thing is it has railway lines to give it scale too.

It says in the article the officer took video too, Which i'd love to see, I'm gonna look out for that and will post it up if i find it.



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 06:52 AM
link   
reply to post by ken10
 


Is this a big deal? Are wild cats a strange thing in Scotland. We have them all over the USA. We even had a 14 ft python and a 15 FT alligator found in residential area of Florida very recently.



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 06:54 AM
link   
It's definitely not a dog. You can tell by the length of the tail, the shape and size of the head in comparison and the way it moves. Definitely a cat. I hardly doubt it's some "new species". It's like anacondas in FL. There is a huge and very destructive anaconda population that is not native to FL. Probably started years ago after all the people got rid of their pets. I'd say this is probably a similar situation.



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 06:55 AM
link   

Originally posted by Missing Blue Sky
reply to post by ken10
 


Is this a big deal? Are wild cats a strange thing in Scotland. We have them all over the USA. We even had a 14 ft python and a 15 FT alligator found in residential area of Florida very recently.
is this a big deal? Well I suppose I guess it is, as we do not have big cats in the UK. There are reports of them, but no "proof" that they live wild. Many of them could be pets that got too big for handlers. they are most certainly NOT native to us here. The most dangerous thing we have is a ferel tabby



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 06:55 AM
link   
thats a big cat if it is a cat...looked like it could be a dog to me



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 07:14 AM
link   
Really I saw no size measure that indicated it was bigger than a housecat... train tracks are not that big



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 07:22 AM
link   

Originally posted by gordon31
thats a big cat if it is a cat...looked like it could be a dog to me


Yep - have seen some pretty big feral cats in my time though - so could just be a huge feral cat - definitely does NOT move like a panther - however could easily be a dog too....not conclusive - expert needed.



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 07:31 AM
link   
reply to post by ken10
 


Hi Ken10,
The video is in the link you posted and it's the best video evidence of ABCs in this country I've seen. Most are pretty grainy and unclear but this is good stuff.
It amazes me that people on the UK still doubt the existence of big cats over here, there's just too many sightings from credible witnesses as well as photo's and now some good video.
Thanks



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 07:39 AM
link   
I watched it, looks like a normal size house cat from far away to me. The tail especially did not wag or swish like a panther.



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 07:49 AM
link   
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/9dc1e5c47ba1.jpg[/atsimg]

Sadly the video is quite fuzzy and the vantage point may give a deceptive size.

That said - considering the standard gauge size of railway tracks is 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) - that may be a sizeable animal.

Bobcats (cougars) are about 28–47 in (70–120 cm) long. The length of a jaguar varies from 1.62–1.83 meters (5.3–6 ft), and its tail may add a further 75 centimetres (30 in). It stands about 67–76 centimetres (27–30 in) tall at the shoulders. When it comes to leopards the body is comparatively long for a cat and its legs are shorter. Head and body length is between 125 and 165 cm (35 and 75 in), the tail reaches 60 to 110 cm (24 to 43 in). Shoulder height is 45 to 80 cm (18-31 in). House cats average about 23–25 centimetres (9–10 in) in height and 46 centimetres (18.1 in) in head/body length (males being larger than females), with tails averaging 30 centimetres (11.8 in) in length. (Sources)

Now, if we can get a clearer/bigger image we can get a better size comparison between the animal and the gauge of the tracks and the above figures will have better value...

That's to say if it's indeed feline. It's really hard to tell from the small size of the video. The way the tail is "straight up" during the entire clip have me leaning towards canine.

We have to - on the other hand - give the guy the benefit of the doubt, seeing that he is an officer of the law and generally speaking they are trust-worthy.


Better quality video anyone?



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 07:50 AM
link   
I have to agree with everyone that says it is a house cat, That's what my money is on.

The standard guage for railway track in the uk is around 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)

So this make's the cat in the video too small to be a wild cat as it is only around 2ft long at most.

Look's like the above poster beat me too it.

Take care.

Regards
Lee



[edit on 28-7-2009 by h3akalee]



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 07:54 AM
link   
It kinda looked like a dog to me, it just looked kind of light weight unlike a big cat which has a weight walk. This thing just looks a bit to perky like a dog.

Of course I am no expert........ maybe it is a panther/jag.



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 08:00 AM
link   
I have one of these right here at home.

Had it for 15+ years now, fit as a fit thing !!
Still running and playing and nagging for food..




posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 08:21 AM
link   
reply to post by meatballxl5
 


Hmm thanx "meatball",

There was only the photo when i posted, Maybe they added the video after.

Looking at the video i find it odd that it holds its tail up, Not really catlike as in panthers or puma's, Unless it was urinating while close to the bushes then they raise their tail ?.

But its tail looks too long for a dog !, Though its definitely a large animal, Possibly a good 4 ft head to tail i'd say.

I'm guessing it could be a "Hybrid" between cat species, As a "Liger" (Cross between a Lion and a Tiger) Is much larger than either parent species......So maybe a house cat cross an exotic species ?, Although "Ligers" and such as far as i know are infertile so there might be a flaw in that theory ?



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 08:37 AM
link   
I'm glad to see some footage finally captured. It's fuzzy as usual, but (like the article says), the critter walks on the rails. Not many dogs would or could do that. There was a good thread a while back that covered big cats in the UK. It's worth a mention because there were a lot of good links in there... FEROCIOUS big cats DO live in Britain — after being seen by Forestry Commission rangers. It's a cat!

Mod Edit: Removed Auto-flag from link.

[edit on 28-7-2009 by Gemwolf]



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 08:41 AM
link   
IMO had all the mannerisms of a dog.Dispite poor video quality, I'd even say it had body structure like a dog also.



[edit on 28-7-2009 by Tyr Sog]



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 09:11 AM
link   
This is clearly CGI.

Second line.



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 09:48 AM
link   
reply to post by Gemwolf
 


Clearly the animal is about the same length head to tail tip as the width of the railroad guage.

I measured my cat and he about 34" head to tail tip (but wasn't being cooperative so might be a bit more).

One thing that is definitely suggestive of feline is the balancing act on the railroad tracks. Dogs really don't have the kind of fluid motion especially when balancing. Cats do that all the time on chair backs, window sills, railings, etc. In fact, they seem to slightly prefer it.

There is a breed of cat known as a Maine Coon that is quite large, around the size of the one in the video though it tends to be long haired. A friend has one. If it were short haired and black it might fit.

en.wikipedia.org...



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 09:54 AM
link   
Big Cats are not native to the UK - The biggest cat we have here is the increasingly rare Wildcat : Imagine a tabby cat that's bigger and wilder and quite beautiful.


One theory suggests that Big Cats in the wild here arose from a change in licensing laws concerning the keeping of exotic animals in captivity in the 1970's, many people it is said, simply let their Big Cats (Leopards, Lynxes, Pumas) into the wild as a result.


The majority of sightings of Big Cats, in particular of the famous 'Beast of Bodmin' are of a Big Black Cat.


Taking into consideration if the animals sighted are indeed Big Cats and not an oversized cat or a Labrador, then the 'Beast of Bodmin', the animal in this video and others, and the animal that has been sighted in my local area over the years including by my brother's father-in-law, are indeed Panthers, which in themselves are simply a name for all-black versions of Leopards and Jaguars.


www.african-safari-journals.com...


www.poster.net...


animals.y2u.co.uk...



There have been sightings of Lynx-like and Puma like creatures also.


The question is, if the animals were released domesticated, as pets, without the skill to hunt, how did they survive?



I just got someone I know who used to work on the railways and used to see all sorts of animals in his job to review the video for his thoughts, and he says the animal's size in comparing to the size of the railway tracks is bigger than a cat and about the size of a dog.

[edit on 28-7-2009 by Regensturm]



posted on Jul, 28 2009 @ 09:54 AM
link   
Most definaitily not a dog. Most definitely likely to be a house cat. I am using the garden fence as a size guide and guess it can't be more than a few metres away from the track, so would guess that cat to be about 2 feet long as a poster above said.

tO



new topics

top topics



 
2
<<   2  3 >>

log in

join