British Big Cat

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

That seems very likely. It has been noticed that the very few attacks we've had seem very restrained, as if they know it would only lead to trouble.

a reply to: Kester

If i was old "vino" Id spill more than my wine lol.
Nice post

a reply to: Kester

Well, that's interesting. Not sure how one would control a big cat, though. They are notorious for turning on trainers that have worked with them for years.

Christmas Eve,3 am-ish,1998,Loch Ness,Foyers-side just past Inverfaragaig.
No never saw or have ever seen Nessie (doesn't exist,in my opinion) but coming around the bend in the road I caught what was either a she-lion or a large mountain lion crossing the road in front of the car,caught full square in my main beam.

It was coming from the lochside,presumably after drinking water and heading for the dense treeline.It couldn't have been more the 30-50 yards away when I first saw it but it didn't dart off in fear but continued to cross at it's own pace almost nonchalantly affording me a good,longish sighting of what was the most impressive,magnificent wild animal I've ever seen.

Am glad I was in a car though because this thing could tear you limb from limb,it's not just it's size (dwarfs my german shepard) but it's musculature,one very strong and powerful creature indeed

a reply to: fastbob72

Nice sighting. When I lived near Kiltarlity I heard what I presume was a mountain lion screaming in the night.

a reply to: Kester

Wow,Kiltarlity I live by Torgomorack within 5 miles of Kiltarlity and there's been many an occasion last thing at night when I take the dog out for a walk when I've heard some very weird and blood chilling screams.

It's not the screams that make me wonder but when I hear the horses up the road crying and obviously frightened by something that I take notice OR when my large German Shepherd gets to the gate and refuses to go any further standing there head low,hackles raised but making no sound just frozen still and staring intently into the dark. Clearly he's sensing something out there that he won't mess with,this is the dog that'll chase red deer stags through the woods for fun.He's never phased by any other animals,in fact he should be the top 'predator' and the only creature able to threaten him bring man yet every now and again he goes from his usual charging up the road and into the blackness of the woods without a 2nd thought to a frozen,frightned animal who I couldn't get beyond the gate even if I tried dragging him by the lead.

I've heard n thought I've seen things on occasion when walking through the dark but I tend to dismiss them as mistaken bird/animal cries or the moonlight making the shadows appear to flit.

Am a born skeptic and would far rather discount something that could be many other things but when animals start to behave completely out of character,when the horses are audibly frightned and my mad dog is so spooked it won't venture beyond the range of the security light that I entertain the idea there may be more big cats around than I imagined.That some could be roaming around the thicker forested Foyers/Dores side of Loch Ness is easy enough to believe but not over this side where there's a greater density of farmed land,roads,villages and houses but it does seem they may prowl the more inhabited part of the countryside too.

I remember about 11-12 years ago I was working nights and my car was off the road so my supervisor said he'd pick me up if I met him along the Cannich road which meant a mile walk in the dark black.I walked down the lane which was bordered on both sides by thick woods.

As I walked I became aware of something large walking through the woods.Must be a deer I thought and started walking again until I heard whatever it was begin to follow me again,slow deliberate steps always a little way behind but keeping pace stopping whenever I paused to listen making sure it wasn't some weird kind of echoing of my own footsteps that I was hearing,needless to say it wasn't and they continued to 'stalk' me until I got past the trees and into the open country.

It wasn't deer as they would freaked and took off in the other direction but there is no other wild animal native to the UK large enough to make the sounds I was hearing.Badgers and foxes both avoid humans like the plague (you can hardly blame them) so to imagine either deliberately stalking a human late at night is barely credible even if either one had the kind of weight that this animal sounded like it had.

It could have been another person I was hearing tracking me from within the thick woods as I walked alone the road but that hardly seems likely.......


.....without my initial sighting of a BIG cat driving beside Loch Ness then I'd be at a loss to explain the sound of being stalked by something as I walked down to the road after midnight in late Feb.I'd been hearing stories. of big cats as long as I can remember and truly believed that only the seriously gullible or feeble minded could believe them to be true until I saw one very much in the flesh.

I've never seen another one but there are a certain combination of factors that seem to suggest there may be one prowling in this area.There's a surprising amount of odd and chilling animal and bird sounds at night in the country but when everything goes silent except for the sound of panicked horses and my dog is freaked by something and refuses to go into the dark.

Also late autumn and winter when the deer come down into the more populated rural areas seems to increase the likelihood of big cats on the prowl.

Personally I'm all for them being out there especially as most people nod n smile to themselves when I say I've seen one,least that way they'll be left alone as clearly they have posed no real threat to anyone so far !!!

a reply to: fastbob72

Very few physical confrontations have been reported. Behaviour can change. Environmental factors combined with the ongoing population explosion could lead to more aggressive behaviour.

Attempting population control by shooting would be an embarrassing failure resulting in dangerous wounded animals. This video shows another way. The action starts at 7 minutes 50 seconds.

I don't think they should be left alone, I think they should be intimidated. Easier said than done. I ran after a puma in Gloucestershire out of curiosity. I almost panicked as I was walking back away from it.

This is what typically happens when a cat gives cause for concern. www.newsshopper.co.uk...

The usual advice is back away slowly, staying close together if you are with others and holding up your coat to appear bigger. Most reports I've heard involve running away fast, it's the instinctive reaction.

I feel the general advice from the experts should be toughened up to include intimidation. Attacks on lone skiers and hikers in other parts of the world have been linked to hunting bans and a change in the cat's perception of humans.

I'll end with a quote from crazywok. "...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."