Are there really Big Cats wild in the UK?

[FrenchieBoy]

Following on from an earlier thread do any of you really believe that there are Big Cats living wild in the UK, and more to the point can you offer anything to support your beliefs? OK I accept that we can occasionally have the odd one that has escaped from a zoo and stays on the "prowl" for a while and then gets captured again, sometimes without the general public even being aware of it. They are not the ones that I am asking about!
What I am asking is do any of you genuine believe that actually do live wild in the UK? Things like the Beast of Bodmin and the few others that people claim to have had sightings of. I've yet to see any photos or videos that show a "Big Cat" clearly enough to convince me. With the high amount of hunters, shooters, stalkers, lampers, keepers etc that really do know their land I would expect something a little more convincing than just a few grainy out of focus photos or videos if these Big Cats in the wild do really exist in the UK.
Personally I am doubtful of the "big cat theories" but I am willing to be swayed and convinced so can any of you offer anything to genuinely support the belief that Big Cats really do live and survive in the UK?

 

[OJL1991]

I’d say no. If they did you’ll most likely of seen a road killed one by now.

 

[levigsp]

Anybody who has studied nature, hunted big cats etc will KNOW this is people living in cloud cuckoo land.

 

[lochty]

Yes. One was shot near here a good few years ago. 2 winters ago, an estate near here had large footprints in the snow, which a Norwegian keeper confirmed as lynx. Also, if you did see or shoot one, would you like the resulting media interest?

 

[bobt]

Yes, several people (including me) have seen a large black cat locally,
one lad had it 10 feet in front of him, his lab who was "game for a fight" stood behind him.

 

[levigsp]

Yes. One was shot near here a good few years ago. 2 winters ago, an estate near here had large footprints in the snow, which a Norwegian keeper confirmed as lynx. Also, if you did see or shoot one, would you like the resulting media interest?

You are jocking right? 90% of shooters will do anything to get into the limelight. They would be dancing in the streets and shouting it from the rooftop to get their minute of fame.

 

[sikamalc]

I have never seen one, but I did have a rather strange occurrence whilst stalking Fallow some years back. I have also spoken with one or two individuals where I used to stalk in the highlands, who swear they have seen a big cat, but not a black one.

This is what really throws me, black cats. Melanism is not a common trait in large cats. A few Leopards and Jaguar carry the gene and are black (commonly known as a panther) there are also, in a certain part of Africa, black Serval Cats.
Why any large cat in the UK would suddenly revert to being melanistic ? as all reports are ALWAYS of a big black cat. It takes thousands of years for this to develop. I would say in 100% cases its a large feral farmyard cat, or someone's dog.
The amount of so called big cat tracks one sees on some social media is a joke. All of them are dog tracks, as they nearly always show claw marks, which cats do not. In fact the only large cat that cant retract its claws is a Cheetah, and its not a black one of those running around the UK that's for sure.

 

[CarlW]

You are jocking right? 90% of shooters will do anything to get into the limelight. They would be dancing in the streets and shouting it from the rooftop to get their minute of fame.

And, for most people nowadays, 'keeping a secret' means 'only telling one person at a time'. If someone shot a big cat in the UK, we'd know.

Nessie is real, though.

 

[Pedro]

However many people would want to keep big cats secret, if we had a viable population of some species of lynx or bigger, then it would be known. Somewhere along the line, one would have been captured (maybe in a fox trap) or shot, or their remains would have been found by someone who wouldn't keep it secret. In all probability there is the occasional big cat lurking about that is an escapee either from a zoo or one that has been kept privately. But nothing like a viable, reproducing population.

Of course, we have had, from time to time publicity about people looking at the viability of releasing lynx, which potentially might happen at some stage in the future (although in my view unwisely). It's strange that most dodgy pictures of alleged big cats generally look something like a panther/jaguar in form. Which, co-incidentally look in profile very like Tiddles the scourge of mice at the farm down the lane!

 

[243lee]

Wasnt there a few cases of lynx being shot or ran over norfolk way back along?
When i was keeping full time the stalker said he foimd the remains of a muntjac in the “v” of a fair size tree but he had no photos to back up

 

[Farmer_J]

I’m going to go out and say yes there were. I have witnessed my dogs going berserk on a summers evening at twilight, when I looked out the window down the drive a large cat, long tail long body was crossing it. Unmistakably not a house cat, way too big to be one. Several sightings around by us by the public. This was 15-20 years ago. I remember my grandfather staying with us for a few weeks when my grandmother passed away, he would be up at the crack of dawn taking his lab for a walk. I remember him one day coming back and was in almost shock. Asking if anyone owns a huge cat around here? Big and black. He even took us to show us where he saw it, the foot prints were no moggy and definitely not a dog.
My stepbrother at 12 years old, he and his friends saw something feeding on a deer carcass in the woods next the house. They each described what they saw separately, each one saying it was a large cat and describing it perfectly. So yes I’m almost sure that there was years ago, but probably not any more.

 

[jimmy milnes]

Surely if there were any wild justice would be all over it complaining about them being persecuted by keepers and going to the BBC with pictures of them

 

[paul k]

I believe that there almost certainly were some, the large proportion of melanistic cats can be explained by exotic pet owners favouring black panthers (leopards) however melanistic cougars are almost unknown and a lynx (also almost never melanistic) looks quite different. I was stalking with a mate in Devon on the edge of woodland on the southern edge of Exmoor and from his high seat my companion saw a large fawn coloured animal walking through thick bracken. He said that, although he didn't see it in the open he could very clearly see the shoulder blades moving in a very cat like way but the head was carried lower and not visible. What he had described was pretty much a cougar, we mentioned it to the farmer when we finished and he wasn't in the least surprised and said that it was regularly seen.

However, if there were some in the 70s or 80s I doubt whether there are any now as any original releases as a result of the Dangerous Animals Act would be long since dead and you'd be looking at 4th or 5th generation at least by now, and obviously this would need a male and female of a very scarce animal to meet up and, despite large cats having large territories, especially when looking for a mate, the chances would be very slim but not impossible.

 

[User00025]

And, for most people nowadays, 'keeping a secret' means 'only telling one person at a time'. If someone shot a big cat in the UK, we'd know.

Nessie is real, though.

Is she black?

 

[NoIDeer]

Found these prints in the grandkids sand pit one morning

 

[User00025]

And, for most people nowadays, 'keeping a secret' means 'only telling one person at a time'. If someone shot a big cat in the UK, we'd know.

Nessie is real, though.

Is she black?

I believe that there almost certainly were some, the large proportion of melanistic cats can be explained by exotic pet owners favouring black panthers (leopards) however melanistic cougars are almost unknown and a lynx (also almost never melanistic) looks quite different. I was stalking with a mate in Devon on the edge of woodland on the southern edge of Exmoor and from his high seat my companion saw a large fawn coloured animal walking through thick bracken. He said that, although he didn't see it in the open he could very clearly see the shoulder blades moving in a very cat like way but the head was carried lower and not visible. What he had described was pretty much a cougar, we mentioned it to the farmer when we finished and he wasn't in the least surprised and said that it was regularly seen.

However, if there were some in the 70s or 80s I doubt whether there are any now as any original releases as a result of the Dangerous Animals Act would be long since dead and you'd be looking at 4th or 5th generation at least by now, and obviously this would need a male and female of a very scarce animal to meet up and, despite large cats having large territories, especially when looking for a mate, the chances would be very slim but not impossible.

If it was a cougar why didn't the six packs of foxhounds or two packs of staghounds ever find or tree it?

 

[Woodsmoke]

Is she black?

'Ethnic', if you please?

 

[User00025]

'Ethnic', if you please?

Definitely effnic just like "Black Jock" off Porridge.

 

[Woodsmoke]

I saw one near Tealing many years ago. I only got a fleeting glimpse of it though, as I didn't have a clue what I was looking at and crapped myself. It was most definitely a large, dark-coloured cat though. Whether t was black or not I really couldn't say now, if I was honest. Large labrador-sized (ish), and about 6' long including the tail. When I reported it to the police they informed me mine was the third sighting in the area that week!

 

[CarlW]

'Ethnic', if you please?

Definitely effnic just like "Black Jock" off Porridge.

I'll have you all know, she is green and she is real.