I've just been talking to someone who totally refuses to accept that there are big cats living wild in the UK. I think they do - and loads of farmers have had livestock killed by them.

My plan is to spend a night out in a known 'hot-spot' and try to film one for Farmers Weekly! Has anyone seen one on their land, or know a farmer who has had lots of spottings on their ground?

In the spirit of the six-word farming challenge, I guess it's a case of: Man with camera seeks big cats!

In our case, the majority of the farming population believes fervently that there are big cats living here, in low numbers, whilst our state government in the form of the Wildlife and Parks denies it.  Even though they deny they are here, they are also quick to point out it is illegal to shoot one. 

Dear Sir,

I have seen your appeal in this weeks issue 11 -08-08 of Farmers Weekly for Big Cat sightings. The artical was accompanied by an image of a snarling cat.
The image you have used is of a performing cat, trained to snarl for use in films and photo shoots. If you would like a more realistic picture of a Black Leopard  then please contact me and I would be happy to supply you with one.
As for livestock kills, Big Cats get the blame for many sheep kills etc. but the truth is that in the majority of cases there is little evidence that points back to it being a big cat for certain. 10,000 sheep are killed in the UK every year by dogs. There are plenty of Deer and Rabbits to keep a Big Cat well fed.
I look forward to reading future issues of Farmers weekly, and I hope that you give a well balanced view.  It would be a shame if people started going out to try and shoot a big cat in the British countryside. As the Countryside Alliance say it is not possible to get a clean shot on a Fox, then a clean shot on a far faster, sleeker and elusive animal such as a big cat cannot be guaranteed. This the biggest danger to the public.
We use a small network of Farmers who pass on their sightings to us happy in the knowledge that they will be safe and sound. Most Farmers and landowners I speak to are very protective over these animals.

Kind Regards,

Steve Archibald

Oxfordshire Big Cat Research
bigcatsightings.com
07731 787249

I've heard from a number of people who claim to have seen big cats around here. One person has apparently even seen one at fairly close range sleeping in a cattle shed, another whom I know quite well has seen something "catlike and as big as a sheep" loping across some fields in broad daylight. Actually the number of counts of resulting dead stock seems quite low. Perhaps the cats are living off the abundant supply of badgers. Local folklore has it these cats originated back when the dangerous animals act came in (1970s?) and a local person who had some big cats simply released them rather than comply with the new regs. I should add that I have no way of directly verifying any of this as I have not myself seen any trace of these animals. As the UK goes, the Cambrian mountains and the 'desert of Wales' are a great area for even quite large animals to lurk with minimal chance of being captured. ... Big cat hunts man with camera ...

 

Yes but does a dog or cat carry the sheep it has killed 20 feet up a tree? Kansas its the same for us here with the wolvs the natral resorses people say they arnet here but they are in good numbers and are a calf taking problam. We dont shoot maney but the odd one that gets to colse to the barns.

Our barn cat is one of the smallest adult cats I've seen but often brings in rabbits far larger than herself to consume (usually over the course of a day.) I've seen her eyeing up the goats with a look of: "could I manage a whole one?" I'm not sure what the legal position would be in the UK for shooting a stock-worrying big cat, but from what I've observed most people would be more interested in the noteriety of having one in their locality than the loss of the odd sheep.

Most farmers here would shoot one the first chance they get, and say nothing to anyone about it.  The few I have seen that were shot in Colorado were plenty big enough to kill a man.  I have seen one twice here, but it was not nearly as big,and I am assuming it was the same one.  I don't think they are very thick here, but still worrying during calving time.

Now then

I was coming home in the niddle of the night a couple of years ago (no i wasn't coming home from the pub) & as i came round the corner at the bottom of our road in the croched down in the middle of the road scared by my headlights i saw a big cat like creature about a metre long, very dark grey with black stripes & long pointy ears. I looked on the internet next morning but couldnt find it & was talking to a potato customer a couple of weeks later describing what i saw & he just said "oh that would be a lynx". I went straight in the house, went on google images & as if by magic there were thousands of pictures of what i saw.

I didn't imagine it but now every time i come round that corner late at nite i keep looking 4 it but sadly have never seen it again. I came home one nite & saw what looked like a baby lynx - marked exactly the same but no bigger than a decent sized domestic mouser. Thinking "mummy" may be  lurking in the bushes i did a handbrake turn & went straight back hoping 4 a 2nd sighting. "Junior" was still there but upon closer inspection had a blue collar with a little bell on it

The 1st one was definately genuine though

 

dave

A guest leaving our party some weeks ago said he could see a large animal moving up the hillside. A small crowd gathered and there was talk of the "Shropshire panther", it was the size of a large dog but just moving in a small circle as though it had just caught its prey.

The youngest, fittest and most sober guest was sent to investigate as several fences needed to be crossed....the "panther" turned out to be several rabbits playing on a tree stump.

Large pointey-eared stripey cat?  I know that, we have four of them.  For example

 

Given how much roadkill we seem to generate in the UK, how come no one's run of these things over yet? Surely it can only be a matter of time?

I don't doubt they are out there but this bothers me.

 

paddington bear:

A guest leaving our party some weeks ago said he could see a large animal moving up the hillside. A small crowd gathered and there was talk of the "Shropshire panther", it was the size of a large dog but just moving in a small circle as though it had just caught its prey.

The youngest, fittest and most sober guest was sent to investigate as several fences needed to be crossed....the "panther" turned out to be several rabbits playing on a tree stump.

Sounds like my kind of party!

When I was a young boy we awoke one morning to the sound of my mother and father rustling around as dad got his rifle out and they were moving furniture in the bedroom.  Both my bedroom theirs were on the east side of the house, and as I looked out I could see what appeared to be a big cat sitting on the hill licking his paw, as cats will do.  My father(who is always bringing up his expert marksmanship badge from the Army) took careful aim and fired, the sound of the rifle going off inside the house was deafening(the sun was just coming up, by the way, shining crossways into our eyes). The cat did not move, dad fired again, and again, and again, and again, and still the cat did not move.  Upon leaving the house to inspect the "prey" we discovered it was a feedsack blown over the bottom wire of the fence, in the rising sun it looked like a cat licking its front paw. 

Awwww

U wouldn't want what i saw sat on your settee

We may be going to one up you with the hidden wildlife story, there is a report tonight that 3 men are going to reveal a bigfoot body at a news conference Friday in California or the state of Georgia, I can't remember which, I am betting it is a hoax, but who knows??

kansasfarmer:

3 men are going to reveal a bigfoot body at a news conference

Don't tell me that, Kansas farmer - I'm already nervous enough about spending a night out in a field where big cats have been sighted

Take a couple of tins of whiskas with u to bribe em with tim If u see one like i saw u won't need a tin opener

Never fear, the bigfoot thing was a hoax, turned out to be a frozen Halloween costume... the "discoverers" have vanished. 

kansasfarmer:

Never fear, the bigfoot thing was a hoax, turned out to be a frozen Halloween costume... the "discoverers" have vanished. 

 

Mr KF, if its the same case as to what i heard about, 2 deluded scientists heard about this frozen Bigfoot and brought the block of ice for serious money, hoping for a major scoop and mega payday, secrecy was the word on both sides, on careful surgicl removal of the ice as not to distort the entombed Bigfoot, they discovered they had been duped by pranksters who had frozen a fancy dress gorilla costume!  

I see there's a reported sighting in The Sun today about a big cat in Essex. It's been dubbed The Beast of Billericay.

Interesting story - but the pictures didn't convince me. It just looks like a normal cat!

Um excaped Puma? more like escaped house cat to me. 

More big cat stories in the news - this time from Cambridgeshire.

 saw somthing ratherstragne at about 2 thismorning on the way back to the farm with the tracto. Had a full moon and there was somthing in a feald moving very fast to long to be a wolf to big to be a cyot and to small to be a deer. but he was just out of reatch of my big side worklighs.

Big cat was seen today by two local farmers combining wheat.

Described as being waste high, long curled tail, jet black with green eyes, muscular back legs.

It was basking in sun whilst being trapped by two combines either side of the would. It strided a 5 foot hedge with ditch at bottom alongside a wooded area.

We have been recoroding and investigating reports of big cats in Leics and Rutland for the last 15 years and have had over 1000 reports, many from close range by farmers and gamekeepers. 3 years back, one of the areas NFU reps was combining south of Melton and shut down waiting in the dark for a lift and heard a rustling noise and swung his torch to see a female black leopard feet away with cub following behind through the straw

we have also recovered carcasses from trees including the remains of a sheep that was 10 feet up in a remote location,near Melton not in an area that you would hoax something like that

any reports can be sent to the national group or locally especially if anyone can confirm the shooting of  a big cat in South Leics 10 years back. Just interested in confirmation not repercussions or whys

current areas of  activity are NW leics Ashby,  SW Leics Hinkley  and Lutterworth/ Market Harborough

 Kind regards

Nigel Spencer mob 07788 915609
 Rutland and Leics panther watch

www.bigcats.org.uk

Big Cats in Britain
www.bigcatsinbritain.org