puma attacked horse 10 mins away from my house

[starshaker]

What do people think about this
here

[HeadFairy]

Have we suddenly been relocated to the African tundra?

[starshaker]

it seems so lol it is a bit worrying though. it was my vet that was called

[HeadFairy]

Where do these animals come from? Are they illegal pets that have escaped? Makes you think what next, tigers roaming around the fens? Wild lions in the Peak District?

[ZZZenAgain]

There were reports of pumas in the UK a couple of years ago, escaped from somewhere.

[Disenchanted3]

Apparently they were common pets years ago but when the dangerous animal act was introduced and owners of big cats required a lincense many people just 'released' them rather than bother to get one.

[starshaker]

there have been reports of big cats around here before but the cat has always been black. Maybe it dyed its hair?

[Chevre]

i heard this on the radio. it was reported like a perfectly normal event. next week - the sloth savaged by giraffes

[HeadFairy]

How odd to have a puma as a pet, hardly pet friendly is it? All we have down here in the south east (as far as I know) are lots of wild boar and tons and tons of wild mink (released by animal activists and now breeding like rabbits) My parents keep having their garden dug up by the wild boar and deer!

[starshaker]

you would think they would be out with dogs or something trying to track it. The stables are now making a fortune cos the people with horses are paying a lot more to have their horses stabled at night.

[ZZZenAgain]

maybe they're adorable when they are cubs? Some people are just daft. Wasn't it in the USA somewhere that people had a fad for pet alligators until they got a bit bigger and the owners suddenly realised it was perhaps not such a good idea? Unless this was another of dh's tall stories.

[HeadFairy]

I think that was a bit of an urban myth zzz, it went something along the lines of people flushing them down the toilet and loads of giant alligators living in the sewers, or something!

[ZZZenAgain]

yes that was what dh said

[starshaker]

All joking aside it does worry me a bit. I know its unlikely that it would come near here but you would think its unlikely that it would be there too.

[ZZZenAgain]

they can't have been that big if they managed to flush them down the loo

[HeadFairy]

Maybe they shoved them down with a loo brush

[ZZZenAgain]

wonder if they have a homing instinct?

[HeadFairy]

Ouch! You'd get a bit of a shock if you're sitting on the loo, reading the sunday papers one day and up pops a rather irate alligator!

[starshaker]

has anybody else had big cat sighting near their house. On the F word there was an incident with the lambs that they say was a big cat attack

[paisleyleaf]

We have rumours of big cats every so often down our way, but I've not particularly believed them.....I think there'd be a lot more devastation if there was a big cat prowling around. Scotland is more feasible.

[ProfYaffle]

I see Muntjac deer quite often, the first time I saw one I thought it was a big cat or dog, they're about that size. I'm not saying it was a Muntjac who attacked this horse but I wonder if some sightings are down to them.

[monkeytrousers]

"If you stand still the animal will totally ignore you. They really are not dangerous to humans."

Why are they saying this? They are dangerous, especially to kids.

[mayorquimby]

the aligator thing was an urban myth was it not?
although i do remember hearing that their are either more tiger or lions (can't remember which) in north america as private pets than there are living in the wild. anyone heard that one before and know if its an urban myth?

[StripeyKnickersSpottySocks]

I've seen wild wallabies in the Peak District on more than one occasion. Not quite as exciting as a puma but still good.

[Pixel]

There was supposed to have been a sighting of a sandy-coloured big cat on the Downs behind my house last year. I'd love to see one.
My neighbour said she'd be scared but I don't think they would come anywhere near a human if they could help it, otherwise someone by now would have got a decent photo of one.
Rather worrying that they would attack a horse though, I assumed they'd be living on things like rabbits, lambs or deer.