“Possible evidence of big cat in wild in new clearest picture”

[Soubriquet]

If this isn’t photoshopped, then I would say this is 100% a big cat.

They are obviously thriving in the wild and do not need to be culled or moved into a zoo

Link

Having read the article, unless I missed something I'm not surehow they know that the picture was actually taken in Britain.

They haven’t concluded that 100% but they have said it’s likely to be the British wildlife. Which is why I say possible evidence.

until someone brings in one dead or alive, no one will believe it

I have no idea why people continue to believe this nonsense. There are quite obviously not populations of big cats lurking in the British countryside. If there were, signs would be obvious and there would be way more photos & videos since pretty much everyone carries a smartphone.

First I would like to see proof that this was taken in Britain.

However, there are undoubtedly some big cats living wild in Britain, but they are unlikely to be breeding and establishing a population. If they were, we'd know it by know.

What we see is illegal exotic pets, abandoned by owners who can't handle them. They cannot survive indefinitely as they don't have sufficient prey. If they were regularly taking farm animals, there would be much more evidence. Some farm animals are taken, but they are few and far between.

This is why sightings are rare - they are isolated animals struggling to survive, not a breeding population.

As for "they are obviously thriving in the wild and do not need to be culled or moved into a zoo" - see above, and secondly of course they do. They are an alien species to the British ecosystem and do not belong in it.

Pic looks a complete fake to me

And the reason we don't see more farm animals taken is because these are pets, bred in captivity and with very unrefined hunting skills.

Strange how it appears to have an iridescent glow around the edges, don't you think?

Agreed. There might have been some at one time when owning such animals was seems as acceptable and then they were released but in 2023 I absolutely do not believe there are any wild big cats moping around the UK.

”discovered in the files of a zoology organisation “

surely if it was true both the photographer and the organisation would have said something at the time? Not just filed the image away? Is the organisation Dave from BigCatsUk who runs the organisation from his mums bedroom?

And I actually don’t disbelieve that it’s possible the odd few have been skulking about in the past. But I’d have thought that due to such small numbers they will have died out by now. Like the wallabies. When I was a kid I saw a herd of about 30 on Axe Edge moor, now they reckon the last one has died out. I last saw one near the Roaches in 1999. I think that was actually the last ever sighting.

I know in the past people have seen big cat footprints, farmers have found mauled sheep carcasses, etc which could possibly have been a big cat so I’m open to the idea.

I don't quite understand why people have such strong feelings about this. I can quite believe that there are a few big cats roaming around. I can't believe they'd survive for long, let alone breed.

😂 That picture is so fake, they haven’t even bothered to make the lighting on the cat match the lighting on the grass. How is it sunny on the cat but not on the grass 😂😂

Exactly.

If there was a genuine, sustainable, "thriving" population in Britain, there would be sightings left right and centre, and farm animals would disappear at an alarming rate because they are, along with deer which are much rarer, the only prey large enough that could sustain a population of big cats.

But there aren't, and they don't.

What happens is: the odd illegal exotic pet cat gets abandoned. There's maybe a sighting or two, a footprint, a mauled sheep carcass perhaps. And then nothing, because the animal dies. That's the story of big cats in Britain. It's a sad tale arising from the illegal trade in exotic animals, nothing more.

There used to be an attraction near me about a big cat but it closed years ago. I think even they accepted that even if there were big cats they’ve all gone and people lost interest

The relative size of the cat and the blades of grass (both in front and behind it) doesn't fill me with confidence.

I don't have a view either way, really, but would point out, contrary to what a PP has said, that there is a massive deer population in the UK, which could sustain a few big cats with no problem at all.

The deer population is strong, although I wouldn't say it's massive given its much depleted from centuries ago, however my point was that deer are much rarer than livestock. Not that deer are rare.

I love the idea that big cats are out there but not sure they are.

That picture is so fake, they haven’t even bothered to make the lighting on the cat match the lighting on the grass. How is it sunny on the cat but not on the grass

Why would they need even bother? Just use an existing picture of a panther on some grass. The grass could be anywhere.

need to even...

The deer population is about 2 million (and all of them seem to live near me and enjoy throwing themselves into the road in the dark as I'm driving home) and the highest it has been for about 1000 years, apparently, but I take your point about livestock being more plentiful.

Here's a photo I could have taken in my garden.

Not sure why so many people struggle to get their heads around the possibility that big cats could be living wild in the UK

When the laws surrounding keeping big cats were changed a lot of people simply released them into the wild instead of having them put down

Also, if a big cat escapes from a zoo it's not even a requirement to inform the relevant authorities

I read only a few months ago that a hair found on a wire fence in the UK was confirmed to be that of a Panther

Anybody would think we're talking about Bigfoot or Nessy

We know big cats exist, we know they live in this country. We know they were released by private collectors and we know that they could have escaped from a zoo

I saw a big cat that looked so similar about 16 years ago in Northamptonshire. I obviously haven't ever told anyone because I would sound like a complete bloody lunatic. I wouldn't believe me, but it's definitely what I saw and I was close enough to not be able to explain it away as anything else.

I am surprised at that, however the deer population is estimated at between 650k and 2m. Not 2m.

It's quite a large range.