British Big Cat Sighting

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

The way of knowing they're there is absent in some and strong in others. I used to walk through a remote corner of forest regularly. It seemed illogical at the time since I wasn't aware of their existence here, but I could only feel comfortable if I carried a knife in my hand. I was convinced a big cat was watching me. I really did feel silly and I was ready to hide the knife quickly if I came across a hiker. After months of this I saw the cat on the other side of the hill.

These cats are a very strange thing. The first one I saw was when I asked a woman if I could give her some money I owed her husband. She looked stunned and said, "Didn't you hear? He died last week". I spluttered my apologies. Then she said, "What's that?" I turned around and saw a black leopard walking down the side of the hedge beside the house where her husband had been born 60+ years before.

Apologies to the scientific thinkers but this is the full story. After seeing the cat and realising that my intuition was correct, I decided to walk a longer route away from the forest. I made my way up the steep hillside. It was a cold winter morning, powdery snow covered the ground several inches deep. When I came to the fence at the top of the hill, at the exact point I'd chosen to cross there was a large blood splatter on the surface of the snow. There were no signs of an animal passing that way in the snow. If the snow had drifted over tracks it would have probably have covered the blood as well. The blood appeared fresh and laying on the surface. The wire of the fence was encrusted with frozen snow and showed no sign of disturbance from a bird. I was shocked by the inexplicable nature of the blood and the fact that it was at exactly the point I'd chosen to cross.

From this I deduced that you can't avoid this strange phenomena and therefore there's no need to dwell on apprehensive feelings. And also that the big black cats in Britain are, for want of a better word, weird. I was relieved to use the original, shorter route through the forest. Safe in the knowledge that I really was being watched by a weird big black cat. If that makes sense. Apologies again to the scientific thinkers. I'm just telling it how I experienced it.

When I took the documentary film maker to see the location of one of my local sightings, as soon as we parked the car a sparrow hawk flew straight at the windscreen and swooped over the car. I said "See! We're on a quest." He said "I think you read too much into things". He has his point, but I can't remember any other occasion when a sparrow hawk flew straight at the windscreen the moment the car stopped. He made a point of saying it disturbed him when those studying British big cats take supernatural elements seriously. I have a sneaking suspicion he may have backed out when those supernatural or inexplicable elements became too difficult to ignore. Or perhaps his documentary is there somewhere and I just haven't found it. Or perhaps he or his documentary did get sabotaged.

Visitor here. More later.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

When it comes to not knowing they're there, here's a funny story from Scotland. Normal flesh and blood cougars have been breeding in Scotland and other parts here for many years. A man intending to shoot rabbits the following day went and sat overlooking a field in the evening to observe the rabbits behaviour. He wasn't aware of the cougar's presence until he felt an animal breathing on the back of his neck. Then something soft touched his neck very gently. He waited a few seconds then slowly turned around to see a cougar silently walking away from him.

Recently my wife was reading the news and said "Oh, they're talking about reintroducing lynx." I immediately said "Kielder Forest?" She said "How did you know?" I guessed because there are so many cougars as well as black leopards and lynx reported in that area they obviously want to claim all sightings are just reintroduced lynx.

Here's the latest from Northern England. www.thenorthernecho.co.uk...

“It was about the size of my smaller mastiff, brownish black in colour, and went straight over the gate, which even my big mastiff, who is very athletic, can’t get over.”

Wow you people are really surprised that these big cats are out there in local wild areas? I mean, yes, yes they are, chances are that most people wont see them, but that does not mean they don't exist.

Off topic, but here is a vid of a jaguar sneaking up on a cayman. So ya, if these cats dont want to be seen or spotted, they are quite capable of doing so.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: GBP/JPY

Like many of us you know what you saw. The naysayers only know what thoughts popped into their minds.

As far as UK big cats are concerned, the naysayers only want some decent evidence.

a reply to: lacrimoniousfinale

Allegedly roadkills get disappeared quick. Allegedly the black leopard cub found wandering was 'taken for rabies testing', then disappeared.

What sensible gamekeeper would advertise the fact they'd shot a black leopard, then face years of exactly the type you never want on a shoot, wandering about, night after night, looking for another one? That wouldn't exactly endear you to the boss. They just get buried. Allegedly. Some farmers leave them to keep the rabbits down. Allegedly.

I don't know how many times I've been told about, and sometimes shown, photographs that are going to come out in the book or the documentary. Then the book or documentary never appears.

I found a scat deposited on the obvious and shortest route between where I saw a huge leopard and the woods. It was by far the biggest cat scat I've ever seen. I was somewhat in awe but it didn't occur to me for one minute to bag it and analyse it. The last thing I want is to advertise a definite sleeping place. A deer hunting neighbour saw a black leopard in exactly the same place. I never sought him out to ask how big. I was happy for it to come through the grapevine as another piece of confirmation.

Anyway if you ask 'the authorities' to analyse it they just say, 'We do not have the time or facilities to analyse your sample'. So you soak it in water and the hairs float out. Cats clean themselves by licking. You now have a sample of..... 'leopard type' or 'unknown species of cat' hairs that you can take out at Christmas and show your increasingly disinterested friends. You've got physical evidence of hybrid or unknown species and nobody gives a toss. They just question the chain of custody or the identity of the unidentified sample.

Here you go.www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk... Another down to earth and practical person setting up a trigger camera that the cat will walk behind because it senses the intention. She gets called a wacko because she saw a cat, but she'd call me a wacko for saying the cat knows what she's thinking. And while you're at it check out the Paul Patterson comments underneath. He's done himself proud there.

I think we should all support Paul Patterson. He's the best defender the cats have got.
paulpatersonbigcats.blogspot.co.uk...

The picture's a bit fuzzy on this radio broadcast but if you squint you'll just about make it out. Listen to that silly woman make a complete fool of herself at 4:36. That's what comes of having a few too many G and T's in the morning. And on Radio 4. Shame. www.bbc.co.uk...

In the US northeast they just pretend they don't exist because a hysterical public would demand expensive management programs and would hunt them to extinction of there were any serious incidents.
I know of other rare animals and the best protection is just keeping quiet.
By the way we had a cat eat someone up around here in the 1940's, the guy went out drinking and his horse came home without him. I'm reminded of that when I hike at night or out in the deep woods ; )
a reply to: Kester

a reply to: starswift

It's similar here. A hysterical public would demand a prohibitively expensive campaign that would fail due the the nature of the landscape and the human population density. It wouldn't be a complete failure though. There'd be firearms accidents that would never have happened otherwise, and an injured cat would turn man-eater so there'd be plenty of hot stories for the media to sell. Computer game sales would soar as parents stopped their children from going out to play. Owners of large black dogs would purchase orange jackets for them.

Up here they shoot at you on purpose ; )
I've had many rounds sail through my general vicinity.
Hunter orange makes a better target.
a reply to: Kester

a reply to: starswift

There's always one.

The 17th Viscount Mountgarret, who has died of a heart attack aged 67, claimed descent from King Henry VII and regularly behaved as though living in the 16th century. His most famous exploit was to take a shotgun to a hot-air balloon manned by tourists, which floated too low for his liking over his Yorkshire grouse moor in 1982. He was fined £1,800 by Skipton magistrates, amid much testy harrumphing.

www.theguardian.com...

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

When it comes to not knowing they're there, here's a funny story from Scotland. Normal flesh and blood cougars have been breeding in Scotland and other parts here for many years. A man intending to shoot rabbits the following day went and sat overlooking a field in the evening to observe the rabbits behaviour. He wasn't aware of the cougar's presence until he felt an animal breathing on the back of his neck. Then something soft touched his neck very gently. He waited a few seconds then slowly turned around to see a cougar silently walking away from him.

Oh, wow, sounds like that cat was play stalking! Lucky for him it wasn't for real! Big cats do play, of course, just as house cats do! That was the weird thing about the one I saw; usually I can sense a cat, but that time, I didn't seem to notice. Then again, thinking the known bobcat was in the area, I likely tuned it out. A bobcat wouldn't be a threat, unless cornered or something. Right to the back of his neck.....wow! What a story to tell!

Weird, though; they admit cougars are known to be breeding, but won't admit to the black cats! Here, it's either one, in some areas, which is very strange to me!

originally posted by: Kester
Recently my wife was reading the news and said "Oh, they're talking about reintroducing lynx." I immediately said "Kielder Forest?" She said "How did you know?" I guessed because there are so many cougars as well as black leopards and lynx reported in that area they obviously want to claim all sightings are just reintroduced lynx.

Makes sense. If, for whatever reason, they don't want to admit the others are there, they have a ready subject upon which to place the blame. Because, gee, people are so stupid they can't tell a lynx from a much larger cat! /sarcasm

originally posted by: starswift
In the US northeast they just pretend they don't exist because a hysterical public would demand expensive management programs and would hunt them to extinction of there were any serious incidents.
I know of other rare animals and the best protection is just keeping quiet.
By the way we had a cat eat someone up around here in the 1940's, the guy went out drinking and his horse came home without him. I'm reminded of that when I hike at night or out in the deep woods ; )
a reply to: Kester

That might make sense, to a point, were it not for the fact that such animals can be protected. Here, in the areas they admit there are cougars, it isn't illegal to simply go hunting them. One would have to pose a direct threat to allow someone to shoot it. Caught killing livestock would work, maybe. Even more interesting, in the areas they claim there are none, they are still protected. The large black cats? Well, people have reported conversations with Fish and Game guys, that run something like this:

Rancher - "I called you out here to report that a large black cat is killing off my calves."
F&G Guy - "Can't be, because there aren't any large black cats."
Rancher - "Well, next time one shows up, how about I shoot it, and how you?"
F&G Guy - "You can't do that, because they are protected."

So, something that officially "doesn't exist" is protected. People are killed by cougars ore often than many want to admit, too. That hasn't caused massive hunting thus far, not with all the modeern laws protecting them. In the past, sure. One reason for the overpopulation of deer in some areas is because the predators wer being killed off. Now, though, it's different. No reason not to admit they are there, and then be able to post warnings to hikers. We have warnings for cougars in areas they are known to be, and hikers and campers are warned about bears, so why not cougars all over where they really are, or large black cats, when they know they are real? Makes no sense. Something else has to be the reason.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

The way of knowing they're there is absent in some and strong in others. I used to walk through a remote corner of forest regularly. It seemed illogical at the time since I wasn't aware of their existence here, but I could only feel comfortable if I carried a knife in my hand. I was convinced a big cat was watching me. I really did feel silly and I was ready to hide the knife quickly if I came across a hiker. After months of this I saw the cat on the other side of the hill.

Some people do seem oddly "blind" when it comes to that sort of thing. I suspect that some of us can sense electromagnetic fields better than others. We know living things have such fields, and they are going to be different for different animals. If people can feel someone watching them, as some are able, then why not these fields as well? They proved we can feel someone watching, too, some years back. Clearly, from your experience, you know to trust those instincts/feelings/whatever. Whatever the cause, that knowing is real!

originally posted by: Kester

These cats are a very strange thing. The first one I saw was when I asked a woman if I could give her some money I owed her husband. She looked stunned and said, "Didn't you hear? He died last week". I spluttered my apologies. Then she said, "What's that?" I turned around and saw a black leopard walking down the side of the hedge beside the house where her husband had been born 60+ years before.

Apologies to the scientific thinkers but this is the full story. After seeing the cat and realising that my intuition was correct, I decided to walk a longer route away from the forest. I made my way up the steep hillside. It was a cold winter morning, powdery snow covered the ground several inches deep. When I came to the fence at the top of the hill, at the exact point I'd chosen to cross there was a large blood splatter on the surface of the snow. There were no signs of an animal passing that way in the snow. If the snow had drifted over tracks it would have probably have covered the blood as well. The blood appeared fresh and laying on the surface. The wire of the fence was encrusted with frozen snow and showed no sign of disturbance from a bird. I was shocked by the inexplicable nature of the blood and the fact that it was at exactly the point I'd chosen to cross.

From this I deduced that you can't avoid this strange phenomena and therefore there's no need to dwell on apprehensive feelings. And also that the big black cats in Britain are, for want of a better word, weird. I was relieved to use the original, shorter route through the forest. Safe in the knowledge that I really was being watched by a weird big black cat. If that makes sense. Apologies again to the scientific thinkers. I'm just telling it how I experienced it.

When I took the documentary film maker to see the location of one of my local sightings, as soon as we parked the car a sparrow hawk flew straight at the windscreen and swooped over the car. I said "See! We're on a quest." He said "I think you read too much into things". He has his point, but I can't remember any other occasion when a sparrow hawk flew straight at the windscreen the moment the car stopped. He made a point of saying it disturbed him when those studying British big cats take supernatural elements seriously. I have a sneaking suspicion he may have backed out when those supernatural or inexplicable elements became too difficult to ignore. Or perhaps his documentary is there somewhere and I just haven't found it. Or perhaps he or his documentary did get sabotaged.

Visitor here. More later.

Now that is very odd! We don't always hear such details, but when we do, one has to wonder. You know, I have heard little nits of weirdness like that in some Bigfoot stories as well. Most researchers, though, avoid those like the plague. I don't get it, in either case. If the evidence is weird, and you ignore it, how can you get a real look at the big picture? For the researchers, it makes a little sense, because they don't want a bigger label. Bad enough, i the minds of some,, to be labeled as searching for something that "doesn't exist", worse to be willing to label it as maybe not completely corporeal!

It's the official position that makes no sense. These animals could easily be admitted to officially, and any weirdness explained away, but authorities all over refuse to admit they are real at all. America, Great Britain, Australia - same thing. "Mo such thing as large black cats here!". If one is shot and killed, they always claim it was a recent escapee. It's beyond ridiculous. One case, I think it was a cougar, but maybe it was a black cat, the foot pads did not appear to be those of a captive cat, but they pretended it was anyway. Solve the mystery of why the officials cover it up, and we might solve the while issue.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

It isn't officially admitted that cougars are breeding here, it's just obvious from the numbers seen over many years and the occasional sightings of cubs. Most experts who are studying this feel the numbers of cougars and black cats are not accurately represented by sightings because the cougars are much harder to spot, and possibly more secretive. In the radio broadcast www.bbc.co.uk... at 4:36 she describes the black cat as she sees it, confidently walking across the road. That casual confidence and the colouring make a black cat easier to spot than a cougar here, regardless of comparative numbers in an area.

The lady talking is very well known. Looking for a mention of her in todays news I find this.

England stars Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer and presenter Clare Balding were also among the famous faces...

And the story is.. www.expressandstar.com...

Join in the roar of the Lionesses tonight!

The English heraldic lion is a leopard.

English heraldist Charles Boutell wrote in 1890 that the lions of England were generally termed leopards until the end of the 14th century, including in the roll of arms of Henry III of England, and in a statute of Edward I of England, dating to 1300...

en.wikipedia.org...(heraldry)

This video shows The White Leopard Of Uffington and the leopard breeding enclosure below it. All a short distance from the royal menagerie at Woodstock. www.royalarmouries.org... h2g2.com...

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

The White Leopard is our ancient long pre-Roman symbol.

...including a bizarre report of a 'pure white' big cat in Chestnut Close in Nailsworth.

www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk...

While we're on the bizarre reports. One very experienced researcher told me he had a report of a brown big cat, a black big cat, and a white big cat wearing a collar all walking in line. He said the report seemed genuine based on his vast experience of interviewing witnesses. Like many experts he just didn't have a clue what it meant. Other than this subject is very weird.

Another odd one was a man in London who had a black leopard walk into his house and settle on the couch. He was sitting in an armchair. Whenever he moved the cat growled. So he sat still, but didn't feel greatly threatened. After half an hour it got up and walked out.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

It isn't officially admitted that cougars are breeding here, it's just obvious from the numbers seen over many years and the occasional sightings of cubs. Most experts who are studying this feel the numbers of cougars and black cats are not accurately represented by sightings because the cougars are much harder to spot, and possibly more secretive. In the radio broadcast www.bbc.co.uk... at 4:36 she describes the black cat as she sees it, confidently walking across the road. That casual confidence and the colouring make a black cat easier to spot than a cougar here, regardless of comparative numbers in an area.

Ah, gotcha! I was hoping some commons sense had crept in since I last looked at the issue! Cougars are indeed secretive creatures, and very rarely photographed in the wild, even here, in areas where they are numerous and admitted to be so. Most pics are in reserves and the like. The black ones would stand out mire in daytime sightings. And that raises another interesting point. Why are they so often seen during the day, when, in areas they are admitted to be, they tend to be very nocturnal? Very strange.

originally posted by: Kester
The lady talking is very well known. Looking for a mention of her in todays news I find this.

England stars Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer and presenter Clare Balding were also among the famous faces...

And the story is.. www.expressandstar.com...

Join in the roar of the Lionesses tonight!

The English heraldic lion is a leopard.

English heraldist Charles Boutell wrote in 1890 that the lions of England were generally termed leopards until the end of the 14th century, including in the roll of arms of Henry III of England, and in a statute of Edward I of England, dating to 1300...

en.wikipedia.org...(heraldry)

This video shows The White Leopard Of Uffington and the leopard breeding enclosure below it. All a short distance from the royal menagerie at Woodstock. www.royalarmouries.org... h2g2.com...

Now that's interesting! A leopard.....yeah, looks more like one, in many pics I have seen. Breeding, too. Why the officials won't admit they are there is a bigger mystery than the cats themselves!

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

The White Leopard is our ancient long pre-Roman symbol.

Pre-Roman - that's old! Of course, I have always believed people traveled a lot farther and earlier than is aditted, but still. Pure white is RARE in the wild, from accepted species. I love this stuff, having a good percentage of Scottish in my bloodline.

originally posted by: Kester

...including a bizarre report of a 'pure white' big cat in Chestnut Close in Nailsworth.

www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk...

That's a big cat! Let, me guess, it "must have escaped", right? The denial is ridiculous!

originally posted by: Kester
While we're on the bizarre reports. One very experienced researcher told me he had a report of a brown big cat, a black big cat, and a white big cat wearing a collar all walking in line. He said the report seemed genuine based on his vast experience of interviewing witnesses. Like many experts he just didn't have a clue what it meant. Other than this subject is very weird.

Now that is weird, but could actually be escaped "pet" large cats. A collar? Cats can band together, though, in packs. Know someone that had a lot of house cats that did it.

originally posted by: Kester
Another odd one was a man in London who had a black leopard walk into his house and settle on the couch. He was sitting in an armchair. Whenever he moved the cat growled. So he sat still, but didn't feel greatly threatened. After half an hour it got up and walked out.

Egads! I have had dreams of a large cat of some sort or another showing up in the house, but to have it actually happen? That's wild! Glad he wasn't hurt.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

I don't know if you've read this. www.abovetopsecret.com...

My theory is the valley below the Uffington Horse/Leopard was used for hunting. Animals would be driven in across the plain. Stone and stick 'men' guiding them in like the old hunters used to do. The size of the valley and steepness of the sides meant wild animals could be kept alive in there for a while. So the local cats would hunt the captured animals. Then female leopards became trapped in there and dens were provided. Taming/befriending took place. My ancient ancestors lived alongside the leopards in partnership.

Here's the story I was looking for earlier. www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk...
From this link which I haven't seen before. www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk...

And these reported sightings are only a fraction of the enormous number of sightings that take place.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

I'm almost surprised by the strangeness of this.

Mr Holder, a former soldier, said he went outside his house at around 2am when he heard the family's tabby, Kitty Cat, crying in the garden and saw her pinned down by what he thought was a fox. "I went over to shoo it away - but it was not a fox. It jumped on me instead, knocking me over.

"I was terrified. I was staring into the whites of its eyes and it was growling and baring its teeth. It weighed a lot more than me - I'm 13 stone - and was at least 5ft long."

The ex-sergeant in the Gloucestershire Regiment added: "It tried to take a chunk out of my finger and it clawed at my face and my arm.

"I was scared it would kill me and my whole family. Eventually I managed to throw it off me, and it went and sat calmly in next door's garden, just looking at me.

"My only concern was protecting my wife and daughters. I ran inside, shut the door and called the RSPCA who told me to ring the police."

Mr Holder's 11-year-old daughter Ashleigh, who was watching from her bedroom window, said: "I saw my dad flying backwards and struggling with something. I was really scared. I didn't know what was happening."

Mr Holder said he went out to meet the police and was bundled into a van for his own safety. His wife Joy, 32, added: "Armed police turned up. We had the sniper squad in here and everything."

As Mr Holder was being treated by an ambulance crew in the street, he says he saw the beast again.

"It was strolling past the back of the ambulance as if it didn't have a care in the world."

www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk...

Notice again nonchalance and unwillingness to really hurt a human. It isn't just my ancestors who live in partnership with the cats.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Befriending an adult big black cat, which eventually brought a cub along and made it clear it was being introduced, and the cub took food from the mans hand as the adult watched, has been reliably reported.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Cats in packs. A friend and his partner lived in a bender tent in a Welsh field. Some nights he had the 'predator' feeling but put it down to overactive imagination. His partner would walk around the fields at night with her pack of domestic cats. One night she came back screaming with her legs bleeding from running panicked through the thorns. She had been passing under a small tree when the black leopard that was on a branch barely above her head let out a terrifying scream. Her cats scattered and she ran.

A few days later he went into the local pub and told them what she'd seen. The Welsh farmers in there said, "We've seen them. Our fathers have seen them. Our grandfathers have seen them. We call them....." He couldn't remember the name they said.

After that he was scared to go out at night until he decided you've got to die one day, and being eaten by a big cat might be a cool way to go.

In the part addressed to my post.
That is the policy, as I knew the son of the State Fish and Game department head.
The don't have the resources or manpower so it would be an unfunded mandate.
They were hunted to near extinction in the past.
Out west you can shoot them as they are considered varmints that threaten livestock
and sometimes have predator hunting jamborees where they kill all coyotes, cats, wolves, and anything else they can find. a reply to: LadyGreenEyes