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?

Turned out to be the Essex lion on holiday.

I saw a black panther about 20 years ago, driving home after babysitting.
The area is mainly woodland with moors higher up.
It was definitely a big cat. Bigger than a Labrador and carried its tail low. Other people saw it in the same area.
IIRC a panther has a territory of up to 10miles, so in a fairly remote area it would be very difficult to find.
I lived on the edge of woods where loads of deer lived, but in 15 years we only saw deer a handful of times. A big cat or two would have no problem staying hidden.

Apparently Milton Keynes has/had a small farm park that had a few exotic animals. They were notoriously bad at containing the animals - in fact my friend had to ring the police about pigs in the road whilst she was on a driving lesson! After seeing the tapir I'm inclined to believe the guy that told me he saw a big cat in his back garden.

I saw one from the car on the main road through Cumbria going to Scotland about 8 yes ago, it came out of the treeline in to a field I thought to myself that's a really big dog, then it turned and loped off I knew straight away it was a cat, just from the way it moved, it was black and huge bigger than a Newfoundland, I was amazed, I've always wanted to see something strange for myself as totally cynical regarding other people's weird sightings, I reported it on some website and apparently that area is notorious for big cat sightings. I know I absolutely did see it.

Old thread, I know, but I just saw this in my local rag. Not sure which side I'm on, but the zookeeper seems pretty adamant that there are no big cats in the UK countryside. But I really want there to be (except when I'm walking in the woods).

There is a guy called Neil Arnold who is convinced there are big cats on the loose in Kent. He's well respected and often quoted in the press.

He has also just reported on a sighting 5 miles from my house.