Big cats wild in the UK?

[Luke]

After reading my new love, Fauna Brittanica (excellent BTW-great information and amazing photographs!) there was a part on large cats..and some intersting information about 'reported wild cats in the UK', i have also been browsing the web for a long time now reading about these reported sightings, and wondered what you all thought too it?
Do you think we have big cats roaming the British Countryside?

[dinahsmum]

I think there are some (not many) which are zoo/collector escapees. Whether there are actually any breeding groups, rather than singles, I doubt.

[Naomi]

As DM says, possibly zoo/collector escapees but I suspect there are very few.

I know that a couple of the 'big cat legends' round here has been proved to be false. One was just a really large domestic cat and another of a 'Black Leopard' also turned out to be fake (someone had managed to get a life size panther cuddly toy, plonked it in the woods close to their home and took a photo :roll:)

[Donna]

I think this is more likely than man walking on the moon LOL but again I agree that it would be the odd one or two and not groups.

[borderdawn]

No there arent any.
Dawn

[Kazz]

No there arent any.
Dawn

Why do you say that Dawn what makes you so certain?

I think there may be wild cats about the size of a Scottish wild cat ie larger than a normal moggie but not Puma size.

[Tanya]

Apparently there has been sightings of a 'big black cat' where my mum lives. There are regular reports in the local paper. I have never seen it, but many people believe that its around. Quite scary really!

[Naomi]

Tanya if that's the 'Baglan Beast' (pressuming it is cos i notice you've got Swansea on your location) a couple of years ago it was on the news and it was suggested that it was just a large moggy. They had a news reporter on the hillside and they showed where the 'big cat' apparently became obscured from view behind a clump of grass, it was only a small clump of grass, just about big enough for a large domestic cat to hide behind so there was no way that a 'big cat' would become obscured by it.

[borderdawn]

Come on guys think about it. Black Leopards roaming our countryside, and apparently breeding? yet they are the most difficult Cats to breed in captivity, black ones (melanistic) I mean, 2 normal Leopard can produce one, but not often do 2 black ones, but we are supposed to believe that they are here, yet not one definitive sighting and no real concrete evidence, except dodgy photos of some 20yrs old!

I find it amazing that if they are here, we arent seeing Deer, Sheep etc.. trussed up in trees, which of course is where they eat and store their prey. I also cant see how one person can track and find one animal across a desert or jungle of some thousand and thousands of miles, yet all the hunters etc here cant find one Cat in our tiny (by comparison) country!

Scottish wild Cats have been around for years thats all they are, larger tabby Cats nothing special, and they freely mate with ferals too, cant see a Puma doing that!

Dont get me wrong, I'd love to see proof of them being here, but its not going to happen, there isnt any!

Thats me though :-D :-D
Dawn.

[logoes]

I have an open mind on this one. Where I live there are fairly regular reports of 'large cats' which I view with sceptism, BUT a couple of years ago our neighbours had an odd experience. They have two Jack Russells which normally will chase anything and everything, also two cats and a horse.

Late one night the JR's began barking like mad but didn't go out through the large catflap they usually use and the cats came in like streaked lightening and the horse screamed. Everyone dashed out to the stables and found the horse in a terrible state, it took them 1 1/2 hours to settle her to anything like normal and they took it in turns to stay with her through the night. Now ....what had spooked the dogs, normally quite agressive, the cats and the horse. Certainly not a fox, they are regular visitors, not deer, they too wander around frequently - can you think what it could be? the general opinion was that it could have been that elusive big cat. It does make you wonder doesn't it? Logoes

[Tanya]

Naomi - Im at uni in Swansea, but am from Gloucestershire! The reports of a black cat are from Gloucestershire. Sorry to confuse everybody! :)

[Tanya]

I have found this link on the internet...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/focus/2004/04/bigcats.shtml

[Kazz]

Oh come on Dawn there could easily be big cats in the UK I mean there is a dinosaur that swims in Scotland.

[Elaine]

Oh come on Dawn there could easily be big cats in the UK I mean there is a dinosaur that swims in Scotland.

:shock: I'm not that old:shock: :lol:

[borderdawn]

Oh come on Dawn there could easily be big cats in the UK I mean there is a dinosaur that swims in Scotland.
Of course Kazz, but we all KNOW that she exists! :-D :-D

I truly would love to believe they are here, I just cant see it, I often look at "new" evidence, but its always refuted or rejected when examined properly, maybe we will get lucky, would make my day if we did.
Dawn.

[Hollybrigden]

I'm not sure if big cats exist in the wild, however if the evidence in some cases is true, then there can be no doubt. People have apparently found skeletons of big cats and the carcasses of sheep they find point to big cat's killing them. I don't know, but I'd love to see one!!

[BengalBlonde]

Where I live there was a wild life park near by and when they hit hard times finacially they let lots of animals loose into the surrounding countryside, when I first came here I thought one day I will find one of my horses half eaten:shock: - I havent but there are some weird and wonderful footprints in snow and mud.!

[Jem]

I'm pretty open minded on things like this purely because in cleethorpes a tiger escaped from the zoo ( years ago ) and it was caught 2 weeks later but yet for the entire 2 weeks it had only been spotted once and it was caught because it returned the the grassland round the zoo.
There are a few collecters shall we say near my ex boyfriends house who have been known to release large cats so surly they must be about somewhere :D