British Black Leopard Photograph

www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk...

“Most of the time we get pictures of foxes, badgers, all sorts of wildlife. The camera has been there for three years. “This shot was at 10.30pm one night in July last year. “It appears to be quite low-slung and with a long tail."

I've seen black leopards in Somerset, Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire. I've heard pumas in Scotland and Gloucestershire. I saw a lynx recently in Wales. It didn't seem to be very wild, I suspect it was released by a rewilder. That sentence sums up what I think about rewilding.

If you get a better photograph than this it will still be called a fake or a mistake. I feel for Frank Tunbridge and his efforts to prove something. He must be fully aware he's up against an official cover-up. I've found kills, poop and scrapes that I could have called Frank out to, but I won't. Drawing attention to them doesn't help them or us, in my opinion.

Quentin Rose warned about the dangers of attacks on humans a long time ago. I've recently heard there have been fatalities that have been covered up. It wouldn't surprise me. forteanzoology.blogspot.co.uk...

Quentin Rose is, rather sadly, rarely spoken about today. Here was a guy who on a full-time basis investigated reports of large exotic cats roaming the countryside. He was the best at what he did. And yet despite his investigations, he was ridiculed and also sneered at by many other ‘researchers’ across the field because of their jealousy. I think that maybe it was down to the fact that Quentin had the know-how as to track such animals; he had the experience . . .

Weighing up the risks and having seen the reaction some people have to encountering a big cat in the British countryside, (getting armed and paranoid), I feel it's best to just let them be.

If possible, don't act like prey.

a reply to: Kester
Well if there are big cats in your neck of the woods, should not be a biggie. They dont generally attack humans in fact they completely avoid them, unless you go out and do something stupid or are in the wrong place at the wrong time and all by yourself. And even then only if your already injured will there instinct take over.

Lets just say if there is a leopard there most people are not likely to just find it or stumble unto it. There far to in there element and keen, that they would not notice somebody stumbling about that from hundreds of yards away.

But saying all that, the picture you provided does look to be more of dog shape then a panther or leopard, that snout looks a bit to long and those ears look to be way to pointy to be a big cat, in fact looks it like a doberman. But who knows, that picture is far from clear and to inconclusive to determine anything.

The problem is:

If they acknowledge those animals exist ( on those locations ), they need a policy.
Therefore it will be denied as long as possible.

Here ( The Netherlands) has officially no wolves sinds about 200 years or so.
But we got recently a few sightings and even a dead wolf. ( The government concluded: The wolf died in Poland, and some hoaxers must have took it all the way from Poland to the Netherlands and put it in a forest ) Hahahaha

If the government admits there are wolves, we have instant problems with farmers, nature lovers and stupid panicking civilians.
Shoot it? Protect it: Fence it in ? etc..etc.

Therefore they will deny it at long as possible.

originally posted by: galadofwarthethird
a reply to: Kester

But saying all that, the picture you provided does look to be more of dog shape then a panther or leopard, that snout looks a bit to long and those ears look to be way to pointy to be a big cat, in fact looks it like a doberman. But who knows, that picture is far from clear and to inconclusive to determine anything.

That was my thought, pretty much. If it's a creature at all it looks more like a dog.

I've seen a wallaby in the Forest of Dean. Of course people think I was mistaken or outright lying but I did a little bit of investigating and the odd stray wallaby is not unheard of in the area.

I think it's best to 'just let them be' too. Whatever they are.

I saw a black leopard crossing the road at night on the Fosse Way between Stratford on Avon and Bourton about 16 years ago.....slammed the anchors on as it stopped in the middle of the road for a second or two......gobbsmacked would be putting it mildly

Rainbows
Jane

a reply to: angelchemuel

Not something you expect to see in deepest, darkest rural England, eh?

I felt the same way a few years ago when I saw a moose gamboling down the street in my little town in the desert (sort of) of southeastern Washington... Big ol' bull moose with places to be, and in a hurry to get there.

a reply to: berenike

Wallaby? I think that would surprise me more than a big cat. That's totally cool, actually...

Looks like a cat to me; if you look to the right of the main body of the animal, I can see what looks like the end of its tail extended behind it through the gaps in between the trees.

I think there could certainly be big cats in the U.K. I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Wales a few years back, and I saw plenty of uninhabited countryside between Cardiff and Welshpool to provide a decent habitat for a small population of panthers/cougars/mountain lions.

When I was in college, I worked as a counselor at a Girl Scout camp in the Granite Mountains in western Oklahoma. One evening as I was hiding out and sneaking a cigarette, I heard some rustling in the brush and woods on the other side of a creek I was near. At first, I assumed it was something ordinary such as an armadillo, possum or raccoon. Then I heard a much much bigger rustling noise and twigs snapping that really got my attention, so I started watching very closely in the direction from which the noise was coming. Then I saw a gorgeous tan colored mountain lion stealthily slinking thru the brush and heading toward the creek. It's posture looked much like th animal in the photo. But the most striking part was that curved tail slung low and swishing back and forth.

I made it safely back to camp by walking calmly instead of running. Later, after I reported what I had seen and we had put the entire camp on alert for it, a game warden in the area told me I did the right thing by walking instead of running, and he also pointed out the fact that had I blown the lifeguard whistle hanging round my neck, it would have scared the animal away.

So, IMO, leave these beautiful creatures alone, and if you are worried about being in a rural area alone, make sure you have a whistle or some other object capable of creating loud sounds which will scare the animal away without anyone getting hurt.

Could just as well be a Doberman or a Tarp for all we know.

a reply to: Kester

“It appears to be quite low-slung and with a long tail."

uneven terrain could easily allow a dogs legs to be hidden

" low slung " is quite a subjective claim

further - your source has created several composite images " for scale " that are quite frankly a farce

if i had the oportunity - i would have sent a bloke with a graduated stick and madfe him stand where the " creature " was assumed to be - based on which trees were obscured and which not

oh and the lack of any mention of track // spoor analysis is rather odd - unless the results didnt tell them what they wanted to hear

PS - incase you have not read my previous comments on these threads - i do believe :

1 - that there are some ABCs and other non native species feral in the UK

2 - that there numbers are far less than certain advocates of the ABC phenonemon claim

PS - ABC is a british term " alien big cats " -i know kester knows this this is for the benefit oof other people

PPS - alien [ in this context is not from space - but africa and south america ]

a reply to: Kester

One night in 1981 I personally witnessed a cougar running down the road while I was standing out in the near darkness. My wife and three-year old child were sleeping in the tent. I knew damned well what I saw, but my attempts to report the sighting to a ranger got rebuffed. About ten years later a 10-year-old boy following behind his family on a trail in that park was attacked by a cougar and suffered injuries. These events happened in the original Big Bend National park is southwest Texas.

As a native of central Illinois near the Indiana border, I've hear many stories, some as recently as three months ago of large cats, not mere bobcats, that are in the area. That is not surprising as deer, turkey, coyotes and wild hogs are also now common to areas where formerly they were never witnessed.

a reply to: galadofwarthethird There were a lot of people in Africa and India who would have been happy if they really weren`t dangerous.Leopards,lions,and tigers kill and eat people on a regular basis in India and Africa to this day and always will given a opportunity.Cheetah`s are the only big cat that won`t more often than not eat you if given a chance.Beautiful animals,but you must respect them.Cougars have killed and eaten several people here in the US in my memory,heck one followed me to my camper one night and growled outside the door about 4 seconds after I leapt in.Jaguar are feared by natives in south America,so again be aware,respect and stay alert in big cat country.

a reply to: ridgerunner
Well I would think Africa and India are a bit different then the UK or America. And any wild animal is dangerous if given the opportunity. That's just it, don't give them that opportunity. But that particular pic does look like a dog, the only spot in that pic I would say resembles a big cat is the neck. Since you cant see much just going by the silhouette it does have a pretty thick low slung neck, a characteristic of most big cats.

But it could just be the way its sitting or the picture and any number of things. The thing is, if its a wild dog, or a leopard, you should treat it the same, that is, leave it alone and try to be aware that its out there, a wild dog and a leopard in the wild will act and be pretty much the same way. If it sees an opportunity it will take it, its what all animals do most especially wild animals.

If there is a leopard there in the woods of UK, then they should know about it and take precautions to that effect. I dont think if they know and denying it will eventually end up bad for somebody.

And its a good thing we don't have tigers here in the US, I have seen vids were they would carry off full grown people like a cat would carry off a mouse, not something to take lightly. But even if there were, once aware people would take precautions.

In fact here is a tiger attack in what appears to be some Beijing wildlife park or at least that's what the video says. The word ragdoll comes to mind. So should you fear wild animals? Hell yes there wild animals. And should be aware of that fact. But in most cases if you leave them alone they will leave you alone. And all animals are opportunists including the human animal.

a reply to: galadofwarthethird Yep,does look like a dog.Here in the US we don`t have as much history of big cat attacks as other countries,maybe cause we are well armed and they learned fear over the years.And I 100% agree glad we don`t have tigers.One ran up a score of over 400 people in India before Jim Corbett killed it.

Definitely looks like a leopard to me

a reply to: blackbird9393

I've seen several and they're definitely leopard like.

Most likely they've been here for ten thousand years since the ice age and they've bred with Roman escapees. Now the population is expanding rapidly and sightings are increasing. That doesn't explain the Australian and USA sightings of similar cats. There must be more to it. ABC.

a reply to: Kester

Look how open the UK is. A reclusive, secret animal like a leopard or cougar could hide for years with only glimpses of it. youtu.be... I truly believe we have big cats in the UK.

a reply to: Kester

from the locations u mentioned, uk, usa, australia..one thing I can think of consistently being in all 3 is US air bases...melanistic(black) bobcats maybe?

few hunting sites in florida seem to think there is a unique/separate species of melanistic bobcat with a slightly longer snout.

interesting for sure..

a reply to: cosmic66 Another thing they have in common is big cats kept as pets,often illegally.Most sightings are likely escaped or released pets.Several incidents have occurred in the US and been in the news the last couple of years.As far as I`ve heard at least two have not been captured or killed.

a reply to: Kester

Nice pic!! I can't imagine how anyone could claim there are no big cats in Britain, with all of the evidence! What about the one on video, walking a train track?!? Huge, clearly, and very real! What will it take, someone mauled, to get them to admit it?