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Just run outside as heard a massive commotion, our cat hissing and screeching like I've never heard. He was under the car. I wandered around our drive (middle of Blackdown Hills surrounded by woods)down in a clearing about 25 yards away was sat a rather large animal, staring at me, while shining torch at it, it didn't budge. Didn't have the shape of a fox, nor the tail, more like a cat, but much much larger. OH looked through binoculars we keep next to the back door, couldn't make out lots of detail, but confirmed not a fox and too large for a domestic cat. Now I am very sceptical about these sorts of things, but has anyone else had a similar experience of seeing one of these 'big cats' that are meant to roam around?
Not seen one, but, about 10 years ago 3 of us heard a growl quite close to us whilst on a night ride over Cannock Chase
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*waves*
It was probably manbearpig. It's half man, half bear, half pig.
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I'm super cereal.
A giant perch?
Did its eyes reflect the torchlight in yellow or green
Might have been a traffic light ?
We do have lots of badgers, but was a lot taller when it sloped off. Not all bumbly like when a badger runs off.
Maine Coon? They are massive cats.
Probz a Leopard. There's an argument for them living on council estates.
Could be the beast...
Lynx? Maybe that one from [s]Aberrystwth[/s] Borth has come over?
I remember the first time I went riding in Thetford, didn't realise they had Muntjak deer.
I was bimbling along in a semi-vegetative state when it jumped out in front of me and woke me up !
Could be a lynx ..maybe they just didn't mention it :-)..
But most probably The Beast ..
Talk of releasing some locally ..Lynx that is ..Im all for it
Most farmers around here are not ..
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/lynx-effect-case-against-reintroducing-13347564
It would certainly add a little more spice to riding in the forest even though they are very shy creatures ( apparently !)
Dog?
Got the bins....but not the camera ?
The bins were right next to the back door, so easiest to hand. I have ordered one of those wildlife cameras with night vision.
Going to have a look when I get home when still light, for signs of foot prints.
Maybe 10 years ago we saw a big cat in the field behind my mother in laws at East Keswick, North of Leeds.
Black, long and low; way to big to be a domestic cat, we were probably 150 metres away so had points of reference to gauge its size which was panther size.
Show me the shit!
panther size
...is the name of my new workout video.
[quote=hodgynd ]Could be a lynx ..maybe they just didn't mention it :-)..
But most probably The Beast ..
Talk of releasing some locally ..[b]Lynx that is ..Im all for it
Most farmers around here are not ..[/b]
> http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/lynx-effect-case-against-reintroducing-13347564
It would certainly add a little more spice to riding in the forest even though they are very shy creatures ( apparently !)
With good reason perhaps???
http://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/news/12129/escaped-lynx-kills-seven-sheep-a-stark-warning/
Perhaps ..however did anyone actually see the Lynx make the kills ..has it been re-captured / shot ?
I'm a little sceptical as this is a publication put out by an association who are dead against the re-introduction of this cat.
The area in which it occurred bears no resemblance whatsoever in terms of scale to Kielder Forest which covers 250 square miles..and a gross over population of roe deer..which is more of a natural food source than a sheep.
I understand the anxiety by farmers ..but in terms of benefiting the area as a whole just in terms of the tourist " dollar" it has more pros than cons ..plus we are only talking about 5 Lynx in total which will be monitored by a radio collar and on a trial basis ..
Any problems with farmers livestock would be picked up very quickly .
As far as my opinion though ..Im in the minority as we are related to one of the biggest sheep farmers in the area..
This happened a few days ago, and because of the sensitivity has not been released until Post Mortem by independent bodies were able to confirm just what killed the animals.
Benhouldsworth - East Keswick is round my neck of the woods, was out riding there on friday. What you saw was probably one of the locals crawling home from the The Old Star pub as there is nothing else to do there..
Panther poo?
Panther fur?
Panther prints?
(Awaits Perchys comeback on these 😀 😀 )
Panther poo?
Most of my output on here
Panther fur?
An existential statement. Whit are any of us fur?
Panther prints?
The poorly received sequel to the Lion King
As an aside, physical evidence for the existence of the real and original Perchy Panther .....
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[url= http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/panther-watch-claw-found-greenhead-2570382 ]http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/panther-watch-claw-found-greenhead-2570382[/url]
😆
By co-incidence, there'll be a program on the [url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09dxz1j ]Exmoor Panther[/url] on Radio 4 next week (14 Nov).
My Maine coon is four feet from nose to tip of tail, and has been mistaken for some kind of “beast” around the village. He can put his front paws on my solar plexus with his back feet on the ground ( I’m 5’9”).
It was probably manbearpig. It's half man, half bear, half pig.
No, I was working.
Now I am very sceptical about these sorts of things
Why? We're not talking mythical beasts or aliens here. Big cats definitely exist, they are definitely in the country and they definitely escape occasionally.
The big cat expert from bristol that came and took print casts when my neighbour's foal was killed said they have been breeding wild in the UK since Victorian times.
From the footprints he said it was a leopard or panther.
This was in south/mid Wales.
The lacerations down the mare's flank were pretty sobering to see
Maine Coon? They are massive cats.
Someone has one local to us, and yes they are huge (long haired too which add size). The first time I saw it was at night, it was sat on a car roof watching me; gave me quite a fright.
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[url= https://www.boredpanda.com/maine-coon-cat-photography-robert-sijka/ ]Gorgeous creatures[/url] and not unlike a lynx to look at.
airtragic - Member
My Maine coon is four feet from nose to tip of tail, and has been mistaken for some kind of “beast” around the village. He can put his front paws on my solar plexus with his back feet on the ground ( I’m 5’9”).
I need to see pics of your large Maine coon ... 😀
They are enormous! Never heard of that before it was mentioned here.
Should get my camera tomorrow, so hopefully spot the culprit. If not, I'll start an STW winter watch.
mrwhyte - Member
They are enormous! Never heard of that before it was mentioned here.
I want one ... 😆
I need to see pics of your large Maine coon
I'd be more concerned about what their secondary one looks like!
Yeah i've seen big cats, so have my parents. I was brought up in the wilds of argyll through the late 70's/80's, when i say wilds i mean 20 miles up a singletrack road in a very small forestry village. Driving home with parents one night from Oban a large dark cat appeared in the pickup headlights dragging a deer carcass across the road right in front of us, then ran away into the forest, we all very clearly saw it and my dad stopped and threw the deer in the back of the truck - got home and we all looked at the deer with it's face/nose totally crushed in by the cat's jaws and massive lacerations running down it's side from it's claws.
Very sobering (but also very exciting) to look at when you are a 10yr old.
My mum also saw the cat crossing the small hillside out in front of our house in Dalavich as well - as kids we used to head out into the forest with our air-guns, dogs and sheath knives thinking we could catch it 😀 (my trusty weihrauch HW80 and a webley tempest pistol - both absolutely **** all good against such a cat) but we never saw it again which is prob just as well for our sake.
I'm in absolutely no doubt what i saw that night, i've been ridiculed and called a fantasist by folk for maintaining my belief that they are out there but i'm not fussed.
Friends in Paris just got some sort of “tiger cat” supposedly they grow to weigh 12kg !
😆DickBarton - Member
I need to see pics of your large Maine coon
I'd be more concerned about what their secondary one looks like!
I feel sorry for the big cat. 😯somafunk - Member
.. dad stopped and threw the deer in the back of the truck -
Yeah mine’s 10kg, would probably have been more if I’d left his nuts on! Pretty sure he couldn’t drag a deer though
As long as they are not panthera tigris or leo they should be left alone. 😛
Sorry chew, can’t get pics to upload!
Friends in Paris just got some sort of “tiger cat” supposedly they grow to weigh 12kg !
A Savannah perhaps? The look beauts too!
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Thats a baby Savannah - a 3 or 4
The 1’s aren’t allowed to be sold on and are close to the size of e Deer/Wolfhound in stature and can leap ridiculously large heights.
2’s are restricted to licensed breeders only under strict controls.
The bastards have killed it
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-41953073 ]Borth zoo 'outraged' over lynx killing[/url]
well that f***ing sucks 🙁
It does, but the zoo lost the moral high ground when they let it escape.
The killing of the lynx is just total unjustifiable regardless.
Surely if they could shoot it with a bullet they could have darted it. Shame
"humanely destroyed" - yeah, bullet in the head.
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Do the owners of those huge domestic cats allow them to roam free at night? (Or ever?)
Surely if they could shoot it with a bullet they could have darted it. Shame
"Dean Tweedy, co-owner of the zoo, told BBC Wales he wanted to see Lilleth darted but was told there were "issues" with the terrain and licensing of the guns".
I’d bet on a Local farmer having shot it or snared it
PJay - Member
A Savannah perhaps? The look beauts too!
Now that's a cat.
Just the job as a companion for my wolfhound who loves cats, but they don't love her. 🙂
I don’t think there is any doubt that big cats live wild in the Uk . Is there a self sustaining population? That’s another question!
I class myself as a scientist rather than a believer of fantasy, but I have seen a ghost ! There’s a lot more going on in our planet than most people are aware of.
I very much doubt a self sustaining population but Its plausible some are around
Given that they have no indigenous predators and that people rarely attack them, why are the UK deer population so wary and skittish?
Makes you think......
I once was interviewed by the beeb due to my having over the period of 4 hours one Sunday afternoon in a rural village where resided filmed and photographed a much larger than domestic cat in broad sunny day. It were my family member who spotted it moving in my neighbour’s field.
Donkey went batshit crazy as cat looked to be stalking it upto the Donkey’s enclosure. Bearing in mind this was coming into the spring, it’s highly feasable due to needing to find a greater source of food.
All I will say is that there’s a bit of cursing in disbelief on footage and complete awe of a black mountain type walking cat.
Numerous reports in the area around same time of similar experiences though I was the only one with footage.
I had these so called big cat experts (the ones who’ve never actually seen one) wanting to know location and to keep my footage.
I kindly declined as it’s important we savour these viewing delights so if any of you lot see one, think yourselves privileged.
On a slightly nasty sidenote, some blokes even offered me a few grand if I showed them where it was as they were going to shoot it.
They got a swift sod off remark.
My brother’s remember bitd travelling back over Dartmoor coming back from a gig seeing a blackcat too.
It got me rather excited atthe time a couple of years back but still believe that it was a big cat.
Whoever said about these have been around since Victorian times...
The guy who told you that is giving you a crock of shit! The numbers just dont stack up. Lets say a feline of that size reaches sexual maturity by age 5. Thats over 20 generations..
They would have no natural predators, so over the course of a lifetime each female could have probably 5 or more litters of kittens that would all reach maturity.
That means if you started with just 2 cats and assumed a litter is 4 kittens (2 of which female) you would get
2 x 10^20 then double that to include the males.
Thats 400000000000000000000 of these cats running around feeding on helpless farm animals.
Even if you reduce the amount of viable litters and numbers reaching maturity etc then the numbers would still be huge.
Total bollocks. People see a Main Coone or a big stray dog in the distance and think its a panther.
The UK is tiny and heavily populated, everyone has a mobile phone with a video camera these days if they existed they would be proved not speculated about.
The first hand account about dragging a dear, I bet a big male man coone could drag a baby or even adolesant muntjac, they grow up to 18kg. A 10kg cat could drag a 10kg deer.
Big foot however definitely lives on Cannock chase.
Ahhh Chilled, but Defra don’t gaf due to it being their responsibilty plus they don’t want to create scare mongering.
Tdog can we see you’re footage ?
Sure!
I might have to email it mind as it was saved iirc in emails sent to other family members and the beeb.
I also have a dvd that I copied the content to.
I just hope it does somekind of justice to view as shot on an iphone 5 and a Lumix compact.
Post it up please when you get it...This is the thing with all of these types of boogyman videos, no one EVER has a good camera and a still hand to catch the moment... because that is what would show it isn't as it first appears.
Great 🙂 I’ll drop you my email address. I’m genuinely really interested, this subject has sparked my imagination over my whole life .
Edit - email removed .
Right guys, 4 of mobile camera pics, also bear in mind context of scale, I believe iirc as this was dated early Feb 2015 that I were standing a good 100 odd metres away when we initially spotted it and took the first photo from top of my driveway.
Video footage is hidden somewhere in my email but do have a dvd copy.
Also the fact that I was already zoomed upto maximum as it were too far away to make out details.
Ok geologist, sure thing. 🙂
Thanks tdog.
To me the first three look like a domestic cat, but the cat in the fourth pic really does have the profile of something different to a domestic . Interesting.
Quite, which by that time my interest were increasing hour upon hour that it were hanging and lurking up and down the hillside.
When I say 100 odd metres, I should say that more like 140-160 or so but again difficult to judge.
It is hard for us to judge scale here , but the forth pic shows a cat with quite a muscular profile , a type you don’t see in domestic cats!
Yes quite and I’ve owned numerous domestic cats over tge years including one Canadian Maine coon and this black beaut most definitely held itself proud at some points and moved like a mountain lion when climbing up the hill.
It had both us standing and believing there and then that this was totally different to what we know as cat owners.
So yeah there you have the pick of the bunch of stills I reckon.
Why didnt you walk closer for a better shot?
I did indeed get slightly closer but without breaching my neighbour’s property as in the Cotswolds they are arssy individuals at the best of times. 🙄 😆
Plus there is a spring that opens into a swamp type bog garden just in front of the closer taken shots over the neighbour’s wall.
Tricky as I’m sure you’d imagine plus other obstacles.
>
LOL, that is a cat. Relative focal clarity shows it's size.
One reason there are so many false sightings is that domestic cats behave in broadly the same way as wild cats (lions,tigers,pumas... ).
There are no breeding populations of big cats in the UK.
The reintroduction of the lynx in Scotland would be great though.
I suppose you know that “there are no breeding populations of big cats in the UK” for a fact?
All that I am showing and telling is that of my experience.
Introduction of Lynx would be ace, I seem to remember the want to introduce them to Norfolk and Dartmoor.
One reason there are so many false sightings is that domestic cats behave in broadly the same way as wild cats (lions,tigers,pumas... ).
Really?
Tdog - that is either a small black cat, or a particularly large blackbird:
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