Big cat sightings - Do you believe in them or have you seen any?

[Unknown2020]

So I’m fully prepared I may get told I’m crazy...

I live rurally, think fields backing onto each other, forests etc..

One day a few years back I was driving down a quiet country lane and in the distance I saw something black creeping along in the field amongst the corn growing. I actually came to a stop in a little lay by and watched thinking maybe it was a lost dog (nothing else about for miles, and not a typical walking area) On further watching it was definitely not a dog, it was like a cat but much bigger/longer and with a long tail and it moved about like a cat.

I mentioned it to a family member at the time and they said they were sure many years ago of seeing a puma that ran across in front of there car. Again too big to be a cat/too big to be a dog but moved like a cat.

Has anyone else actually spotted anything like this in the UK?

My mum saw one back in 2005/6.
She's a sensible lady and really isn't one for being dramatic so when she told us about it, I 100% believe her.

We were staying in our caravan in a seaside town in Ireland, which also is close to some hills. It was the middle of summer and my mum woke up to get a glass of water at about 6.30am,it was pretty bright outside.
She was standing at the sink, looking out the window and a big black cat slowly walked out from behind a caravan, across the grass and disappeared behind the next row of caravans.

I was about 14 at the time and for the rest of the summer, she refused to let me walk around the site on my own!

Sheep carcasses are found quite often

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/beast-cat-scottish-highlands-bettyhill-swordly-sheep-stripped-eaten-mystery-a7616711.html

Puma/cougar/mountain lion are different names for the same animal, they're widespread here in Canada and there are occasional attacks on hikers/trail runners and (rarely) closer to built-up areas - see the article below from last year. I live near the Rockies and hike regularly in the backcountry with my dogs. I always carry bear spray in easy reach even out of bear season. I'd rather encounter a grizzly than a cougar any day.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/canada/british-columbia/article-vancouver-island-boy-survives-cougar-attack/

Cougars are sandy/tawny brown coloured and quite large. Lynx are also fairly common here but much smaller than cougars. They look quite different, having pointed, tufted ears and short tails.

Large black cats are not common - in the wild they are melanistic leopards or jaguars (aka panthers) - there has never been a documented case of a melanistic cougar so an all-black cat is not going to be a puma/cougar/mountain lion.

This puma was captured alive in the wild, in Inverness-shire, Scotland in 1980.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_big_cats

My gran saw one in Fife, either late 80s or early 90s. I always look into the fields when I'm a passenger on that road. There has been a recent sighting quite close to the area, maybe 4 years ago. I live pretty much in the middle between the two sightings and it would be possible to walk between the two over only fields and woods, within maybe 1.5-2 hours. We have deer around here but the woods are very busy with dog walkers and no sightings in this particular village.

A few thousand sightings a year apparently

www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161208-many-people-are-convinced-that-big-cats-roam-the-uk

Fun fact of the evening: Black panthers are not a breed as such. They are a big cat (usually leopards or jaguars) which have a genetic black coat colour. Black leopards who mate will produce only black leopards, but spotted jaguars (as in tan and black) can produce a black panther (ie a black coated jaguar) in a litter alongside spotted jaguar cubs.

I believe I've seen one near Maidenhead about 10 years ago. I thought I had but it was brief and although surrounded by fields, generally close to a busy road. I was a passenger in a car. But interested I did a bit of googling and there have been previous sightings in that area.

In 1997 I worked at a rural restaurant on a river and used to see huge paw prints In the mud.soon after I left I read an article in my local paper that the famous chef and his team had spotted a huge black cat in the grounds

Yup black cat about 1/3rd way up mountain chasing sheep- NOT a dog, size of dog, moved like a cat. DH was with me. Both rural backgrounds - we were yelling what the f is that at each other and saying it’s not a dog it’s not a cat what is it - it’s a panther no it’s not well what else is it???? It was below us on mountain but we had a clear view of it. It sat down at a stream As sheep fled over it - Bunched tall with straight front legs the way a cat sits - I always used to think it was people imagining things - not now although DH embarrassed and denies it some years later

Yes. A very large black cat that looked like a panther. In a field beside a quiet country lane. About 2008. I’ll never forget it. Nothing will convince me it was a dog, sheep, regular but large cat or anything else.

Don't know if you remember that series Gordon Ramsay made about rearing animals in his back garden (to explain where our food comes from, what eating meat really entails etc) and he had two lambs in his back garden in Clapham but they trashed it so he persuaded Victoria Beckham to take them and keep them at her house in Hertfordshire. While there one of them was killed by another animal. An autopsy revealed it was a big cat kill.

Hasn't there been some sightings of a creature in the Cannock Chase area? I'm sure I remember reading about it.

I had a really odd experience a couple of years ago. I live in North Herts. I went to the park mid morning to do some exercise, it's surrounded by open countryside but was deserted at that time during the week. There is quite a steep hill that is good for sprinting up. The bottom of the hill is next to woodland. I went down the hill but suddenly felt very apprehensive, actually frightened would be a better word. I heard what I can only describe as the very distinctive low growl of a big cat. I couldn't see anything but every bone in my body told me not to run up that hill. So I stood there for a few moments and then very slowly started to walk away. I was too scared to turn round and when I got to the top, I belted across the park fully expecting some giant bloody thing to be following me. I've never been so scared in my life. I told one friend who was sceptical but I know what I heard and it wasn't native wildlife. Anyway, about a year ago, in approximately the same spot, someone reported seeing a large black cat while walking their dog. I am now convinced we have one in the vicinity and I am careful when I go over there with my DS and tend to stick to busier times. Very scary but definitely not unusual in Herts as there have been other reports in other parts of the county.

Yes, DH and I saw a panther-like, large black feline thing from our lounge window a few years ago. Our window looked out over fields (we live in rural village) and it walked out from some bushes in the field, then jumped up onto and then over a stone wall.
It was bigger than most dogs (and definitely not one!) with a long tail.
This was in South Wales.

I've seen one, it was a lynx type cat, fawn colour with a long tail. Late at night, driving through country roads. I have no explanation!

TheReluctantCountess I used to keep my horse in that area , was it seen in Joydens Wood ?

Yes, I know people who’ve seen them on Dartmoor. There’s plenty of food and places to hide.

Oooh, they're in Ireland too!

@FelicityJaneGrace
Attacks on humans by big cats are quite rare. Big cats mainly only attack humans when they are disabled in some way that prevents them hunting other prey. A big cat in this country isn't going to have any competition for prey really so shouldn't have any reason to turn on humans.

Ive seen one about 10 years ago in North Yorkshire on a very early morning dog walk. I was walking round the edge of a wheat field that had just been harvested at about 6.30am with my labradors when i saw a large black animal trotting low to the ground along the hedge row, its tail was longer than its body, it moved like a cat and when it crossed the field and went over the fence it went up and over the fence post like a cat. I was about 50m away and it stopped me in its tracks as couldnt believe the size, not overly tall but the length. It had come from an area that had pheasant pens and was heading cross country were there are no houses for miles.

Chris Packam did a series ages ago about mythical creatures. Each week he investigated one and tried to establish if it was true or fiction. His verdicts?

Nessie - myth
Big foot - myth. (Did you know one of the most famous sightings and photos of big foot was in a place called "bluff creek", while Planet of the Apes was in production and the guy who took the picture was good friends with the special effects guy working on the film. Chris reckoned he wasn't on on it but was pranked by his friend).

The verdict on the UK big cats episode was - real! But unlikely to be a breeding population out there, just some lone cats.

They also showed how easy it would he to faie footage or get confused yourself though. At the beginning they showed a blurry image of a black creature slinking through a field. It really looked like a black panther.

At the end of the program they showed the same animal but out it in focus. It was simply a black house cat!

On the other hand they found some very credible accounts of big cat sightings. One where teachers and a playground of pupils saw a lynx through the fence of the playground IIRC.

This program was years ago and I don't remember how old big cats get, but at the time they thought many of them would have been released when the law changed.in the 60s (and 70s?) there were no laws about owning dangerous pets / wild animals and it became trendy to have big cats. People even took them for walks in public places!

When the law changed (70s or 80s? I can't remember) owners were required to register them, cage them and care for them adequately. Some simply let them go into the wild instead of comply with the law.

Phillipa12 can I ask where in north Yorkshire. As that's where I believed I saw one.

Gah! That should say, They also showed how easy it would be to fake...