Alien big cats (ABCs)

[EauRouge]

What do you all think of the idea that there are big cats roaming the British countryside? It's not supernatural so within the realms of possibility, but I just can't see where they would hide around here. There's loads of farmland and very little woodland, and the woodland there is is full of dog walkers all day.

Apparently though, there have been lots of sightings near me. I know there was a story in the last couple of years where someone found what they said were the prints of a big cat, but there were very clearly just the tracks of a large dog.

Has anyone ever seen one?

I saw a linx a couple of years ago. I pulled over and watched it amble calmly across a bare unplanted field. Sadly it was a rare occasion in that I didn't have my phone. There was plenty of time to take a few snaps. It really didn't seem worried by my presence. No one believed me until a few weeks later there was a report in the local rag of 2 lynxes that had been spotted not far away.

Wow, that's pretty cool. My eldest DD loves lynxes, she would go loopy seeing one in the wild. It wasn't in Cambs, was it?

We live on the north border of co. Durham and tbh I'm surprised we don't have more sightings of big cats. A lot of the land is owned by Lord Lambton and he kept them years ago (I dunno when lol) his estate is very closed up, so maybe they just roam around in there mostly. DH says he saw one on the border of LL's land a few months back...

sites.google.com/site/allthingsbournmoor/p-lambton---lion-park

It was the 70s and they were enclosed but not caged, so very possible!

We saw one when I was a child, sadly in the days before camera phones

Very definitely large (non-domestic) cat, it ran across a lane in front of us. It's general accepted that they're very real in the villages round there.

Believe it's commonly thought they are, or are descended from, pets that were illegally owned then turned loose.

I saw one 4 years ago. Xmas day about 8am.

Took the dog for a walk and was on a track by a field. My greyhound was in the field near the hedge when i saw a large black cat heading for her. Greyhound saw it amd sprinted back to me. Now greyhounds are fast and this cat was about as fast. If it wasnt for the head start I think it might have caught up with her. It was a similar size, no way a domestic cat. Not a dog either. Definitely a cat gait and a long thin tail.

Told my neighbour who's a sensible police officer and he said he's seen large cat prints while out walking.

There have rumours of big cats roaming around since I was a child 50 years ago. Probably since before that. None have ever actually been found.

It makes sense. People did own wild animals as pets in the past, plus animals from circuses, possibly even zoos, especially smaller zoological gardens rather than the much more secure modern zoos. It's plausible that some escaped or were abandoned etc at some point or other, especially as public opinion started to see it as cruel to keep such animals domestically. It would only take one male and one female for several litters to occur.

I don't know why they would all be black though apart from the fact that people often see them in the dark and it's harder to see markings in the dark so might assume they were black? Or just dirty perhaps? It's not their natural environment so they might be dirtier than they would have been in Africa or somewhere.

I remember a thread about MNers remembering having their picture taken with a lion in a shopping centre in the 70s! Seems totally mad to me! I wasn't born until the 80s so have no recollection of anything like that.

I heard that a garage in a village near me used to have a tiger chained up outside- not sure if it was anything to do with Esso, but people used to have their picture taken with it.

Are there many reports of other animals living wild in the UK? I've seen reports of wallabies (and they have been photographed many times so they are definitely around)- what about stuff like monkeys? Could they survive in the wild?

I remember my Dad talking about a furniture store in Wednesbury that had a caged lion outside - would be quite a few years ago!

Maybe they would have been black because that was the most fashionable colour to own when people had them as pets?

I don't have trouble believing they're out there. Prof Yaffle's point about deer is a very good one.

There are lots of stories of sightings near me from the deer stalking fraternity. They don't make a big fuss and publicise it as they want to let them roam free as there is apparently no harm being done by them

With the black panthers that have supposedly been seen near me, the story is that they're descended from American regimental mascots from WW2. No idea if that's plausible or not.

The Surrey Puma must be a pensioner by now. We live near a zoo and if the wind is in the right direction we can hear the big cats roar, annoys our tabby lol!

My ex saw one heading across a field and disappearing into woodland as he was driving up the Herts A10 towards Royston. He was adamant that he'd seen a black panther and not a labrador or any other dog.

Royston is near Cambridgeshire! I'm determined to see a big cat now, but I'm usually accompanied by noisy children, or I'm running and so making a loud wheezy sound.

The lynx I saw was in North Notts. Obviously it wasn't black so not a typical big cat sighting. Although plenty of lynx seem to be spotted so not particularly unusual either.

I have a very good friend in Lincolnshire who saw a large black cat on his land. He did get a picture although nothing in the photo for scale. So he measured his own average size (ginger) moggy and made a cardboard cut out to scale and placed it where he saw the big cat. Took a photo from same spot and there is a big difference in the pictures. I believed him even before the "evidence" tho, he is a no nonsense country type and is the least likely person to make something like this up.

I saw one about 15 years ago whilst staying at a house in Norfolk. Beautiful big black cat walking through the field. Told my hosts about it, fully expecting them to laugh at me.
Apparently they saw it fairly frequently as did their neighbours, who claimed there were at least two living nearby. Occasionally a story will surface from people visiting the area but the locals keep their secrets!

I'd love to know where in Norfolk that is, or is it a secret?

Le tigre on the loose near Paris. I wonder if it's got a twitter account yet...

I used to live in Milton Keynes. Driving home one night, a tapir crossed the road in front of us. I also chatted to a dog walker who claimed he'd seen a big cat in his back garden.

I thought the thing about deer stalkers keeping quiet was interesting since I heard a rumour years ago about big being release currently for the sole purpose of poeople hunting them. It honestly wouldn't surprise me and would explain some of the secrecy.

Whilst driving back from a work outing a colleague and I saw what we thought was a dead hyena on the side of the road. I've googled and it could easily have been a lynx. It was big, definitely not a domestic cat and the markings weren't like that of any domestic dog I've seen. Sadly we didn't stop the car to investigate properly.

im sure some of these are probably maine coons

Or savannahs. I had a savannah and she was normal moggy size but pretty sure they're supposed to be much bigger, more like the serval they're crossbred with.

A tapir! How random. Escapee from Woburn maybe?

There are rumours of a lynx colony near me! I thought they were solitary actually. Paw prints have been spotted but they look like dog paw prints to me.

What ever happened about the tiger in france?