Are there really Big Cats wild in the UK?
- Thread starter FrenchieBoy
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hunter243
Well-Known Member
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
i cant see how one or more could be wandering around with out getting shot or snared or photo taken by a trail cam or run over, nothing escapes the publics eyes in this country. think about the badger cull hundereds of people out from both camps over loada of farms for six weeks with thermals and nothing. no dead sheep up trees, no pets, taken what are they eating mice! i dont doubt some were let go and some escaped but i would bet they are long dead now
Panic in French town as black panther spotted prowling on rooftops
AN escaped black PANTHER sent shockwaves through a French town yesterday after it was seen roaming rooftops. The big cat prowled the streets of Armentieres, near Lille in northern France, before be…
www.thesun.co.uk
I’ve never found a roe or sheep carcass up a tree do that counts out leopards and panthers. So personally I’d say No!
Cootmeurer
Well-Known Member
Florida panthers in the everglades are extremely rare - and yet they show up hit on the road from time to time. Same with our big (and small cats) in the US. Millions of miles of roads, millions of automobiles make a very efficient sampling system. On top of that, modern high quality phones and trail cams suggest that not much can exist without someone somewhere snapping a pic of it.
Wallabies have been living and breeding on the moors north of Leek since at least the early 70's. Used to see them when training soldiers up there.
There are definitely big domestic and feral cats roaming about.
There was meant to have been a panther spotted close to us, in fact someone crashed their car avoiding it but funnily enough the house where it was seen has a large back dog. Leopards and panthers.......I have my doubts but it certainly got the heart going when I got a set of eyes in the lamp !
There was meant to have been a panther spotted close to us, in fact someone crashed their car avoiding it but funnily enough the house where it was seen has a large back dog. Leopards and panthers.......I have my doubts but it certainly got the heart going when I got a set of eyes in the lamp !
lochty
Well-Known Member
Re my earlier post. I phoned the keeper who I mentioned to ask about it. They were out with the spotlight in February and spotted a set of eyes in a relatively new plantation. Big green flash but looked too big for a fox and not like a deer. So, they got a bit closer and it's still there. So, in true old fashioned keeping style (it was 25 years ago, pre internet, mobile phone and thermal), poked the .270 out the window and duly let drift. there was a good thud and the eyes went out. So, over to the fence, climb over and in his words "there's the biggest f**king cat I've ever seen lying with it's head in bits". It was too heavy to lift over a deer fence, so they left it and went back in the morning. It was a light tan colour, "about one and a half times the size of my biggest Lab." with a 3 foot tail and a chestnut coloured nose. They got it over the fence and then went to fetch the JCB to bury it. The story circulated amongst the keepering fraternity but not in the papers (social media didn't exist then) as they didn't want the police to get involved and start asking questions.
Now, don't judge on whether they should have shot it, reported it etc. It happened a long time ago and life was very different then.
With regards to the lynx footprints, I also saw these about 5 years ago in the snow. Very round, no signs of claws and about the size of my palm (size 9 hands). They were tracked in between woods with a terrier, but then disappeared under trees where there was no snow and they couldn't get any scent.
So, in my mind, I have no doubt that there are isolated cats on the loose in Scotland at least. ATB Dave
Now, don't judge on whether they should have shot it, reported it etc. It happened a long time ago and life was very different then.
With regards to the lynx footprints, I also saw these about 5 years ago in the snow. Very round, no signs of claws and about the size of my palm (size 9 hands). They were tracked in between woods with a terrier, but then disappeared under trees where there was no snow and they couldn't get any scent.
So, in my mind, I have no doubt that there are isolated cats on the loose in Scotland at least. ATB Dave
Rusty Gate
Well-Known Member
Es
Especially with trail cams & thermalmnv so readily available now
When I was doing my level 2 both myself and my AW saw foot prints of a cat as big as the palm of my hand that was 2004
also with riding home from my girlfriend house many years ago I had an animal jump out of a hedge and run beside me for about 10 seconds before jumping back in, that was on 1997.
Literally 6/7 miles away as the crow flies!
call it what you like but I know what I saw that night and it wasn’t a dog.
I am certain that was a big cat.
that’s near Attleborough in Norfolk, I could take anyone to the exact spots today.
also with riding home from my girlfriend house many years ago I had an animal jump out of a hedge and run beside me for about 10 seconds before jumping back in, that was on 1997.
Literally 6/7 miles away as the crow flies!
call it what you like but I know what I saw that night and it wasn’t a dog.
I am certain that was a big cat.
that’s near Attleborough in Norfolk, I could take anyone to the exact spots today.
They have been there sinceway before the 70's my old fella had seen them in the 50's and he was told about them pre war.
Fosbery Holster
Well-Known Member
I had the encounter of my life........Saturday evening summer time........a feckin ”Tiger”.......no not in the “Sunderbans”, not out stalking.............in the local pub, cross my heart it’s true !!
Saturday evening went to the local, (Greater Manchester outskirts), to meet my mates, it seems surreal now but it happened many many years ago.
Not long arrived stood chatting in what then was called the ‘Vault’, pretty quiet really just two of us having the first pint and l stress “first pint” waiting for a third mate to arrive, out of the corner of my eye movements at the open door......in walks a feckin “TIGER”.........albeit a cub, round about the size of a full grown Labrador.....well we nearly sh1t ourselves......it just ambled round gave us a look that only Tigers can do, turned and walked out the door, l followed on foot out the door to watch it go across the road at the traffic lights.......no it didn’t use the Pelican crossing......it continued walking down the road past the church in the direction I presumed it came, towards an area that I’d heard that someone kept dangerous animals.......well l did no more than go back in the pub to finish my drink with my mate.....never did see it again !!
“Cross my heart”.....it is true !!
Saturday evening went to the local, (Greater Manchester outskirts), to meet my mates, it seems surreal now but it happened many many years ago.
Not long arrived stood chatting in what then was called the ‘Vault’, pretty quiet really just two of us having the first pint and l stress “first pint” waiting for a third mate to arrive, out of the corner of my eye movements at the open door......in walks a feckin “TIGER”.........albeit a cub, round about the size of a full grown Labrador.....well we nearly sh1t ourselves......it just ambled round gave us a look that only Tigers can do, turned and walked out the door, l followed on foot out the door to watch it go across the road at the traffic lights.......no it didn’t use the Pelican crossing......it continued walking down the road past the church in the direction I presumed it came, towards an area that I’d heard that someone kept dangerous animals.......well l did no more than go back in the pub to finish my drink with my mate.....never did see it again !!
“Cross my heart”.....it is true !!
ColinJ
Well-Known Member
That was Black Shuck. Never look into his eyes!
mickyfinn
Well-Known Member
Many yrs ago 20/25yrs, i was heading to London from warrington on the train, now I’m not sure where i was but while looking out the window i spotted the back part of a large black cat long upwards curling tail just moving into a small copse/wood, definitely not a domestic cat.
Then about 4/5 yrs ago myself and a mate were out foxing on farmland not far from Ruthin in wales, we were using electronic caller to entice the fox in, but on this occasion at this farmland none shown so we packed up and started to head home.
As we exited the land, should add its quite desolate in this area, the country lane was say 10/12ft wide late at night and as its quite bendy i wasn’t driving fast, a large black cat jumped out to the middle of the road, it wasn’t a few steps but one bound looked at us and again in one jump gone into the hedge to our left. literally covering half the width of that road so 5/6ft in length.
We both seen it clear as day in the top of my headlights, large bright green reflective eyes in my beam, size wise about size of a lab maybe larger and that distinctive long curly tail, after stopping my 4x4 we both turned to each other and we both muttered WTF.
My mate jumps out with a powerful lamp and heads over the hedges where it meets the fence around 4ft high nothing so it obviously cleared hedges and the fence, the sheep in that field were separated left and right so it definitely spooked the sheep, funny enough it was heading in the direction to the land we had previously been set up in calling which was only a few hundred yards away.
Now if my mate wasn’t their to witness id probably be questioning myself as prior to this i was pretty much a disbeliever although seeing what i thought was a large cat many yrs before on the train. Now I’m 100% sure what we seen was a large cat, its still hard to believe.
Like many of you on here i always questioned about trail cams, road traffic collisions etc etc....but once you see one.
Then about 4/5 yrs ago myself and a mate were out foxing on farmland not far from Ruthin in wales, we were using electronic caller to entice the fox in, but on this occasion at this farmland none shown so we packed up and started to head home.
As we exited the land, should add its quite desolate in this area, the country lane was say 10/12ft wide late at night and as its quite bendy i wasn’t driving fast, a large black cat jumped out to the middle of the road, it wasn’t a few steps but one bound looked at us and again in one jump gone into the hedge to our left. literally covering half the width of that road so 5/6ft in length.
We both seen it clear as day in the top of my headlights, large bright green reflective eyes in my beam, size wise about size of a lab maybe larger and that distinctive long curly tail, after stopping my 4x4 we both turned to each other and we both muttered WTF.
My mate jumps out with a powerful lamp and heads over the hedges where it meets the fence around 4ft high nothing so it obviously cleared hedges and the fence, the sheep in that field were separated left and right so it definitely spooked the sheep, funny enough it was heading in the direction to the land we had previously been set up in calling which was only a few hundred yards away.
Now if my mate wasn’t their to witness id probably be questioning myself as prior to this i was pretty much a disbeliever although seeing what i thought was a large cat many yrs before on the train. Now I’m 100% sure what we seen was a large cat, its still hard to believe.
Like many of you on here i always questioned about trail cams, road traffic collisions etc etc....but once you see one.
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