Big Cats
There are no officially recognised extant species of big cat in the British Isles. Even the Scottish Wildcat - the snarling icon of the glens - is now thought to be little more than a species of feral cat exaggerated only slightly in size from their domestic relatives.
What then to make of the continuous reports that pour in of leopards, pumas and even lions seen in every corner of the country?Unlike their spectral canine cousins, the Alien Big Cats of Britain play coquettishly with reality - allowing themselves to be captured in film and photographs, leaving hairs and footprints and even on occasion venturing to kill unwary livestock.
Are they, as some suspect, exotic pets turned loose in response to legislation and the demands of keeping such a beast in the home?
Or perhaps they are something more exotic still - a kind of phantasm akin to the more mysterious and rarely seen black dogs of folklore.
Or maybe the dry, official response of misidentification is nearer the mark.
But even so, enough carcasses of both beast and prey have come to light down the years to make it clear that at least some of these cats are very much real. Where they came from, how they live, how they evade detection and what - if any - meaning they bring to us remain mysteries.
Articles and Essays
- Is The Dangerous and Wild Animals Act 1976 Responsible for Big Cat Sightings?
The recurrent reports of big cats throughout the British Isles represents an interesting quandary for those interested in cryptozoology On the one hand it must be the secret desire of any collector of mysteries to be the one who proves that some exotic or unknown species of animal is living among us On the other hand it seems to be such an unlikely prospect in many ways that it is tempting to view the nbsp
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13th December 2011 : carps
- The Surrey Puma
Leafy Surrey is a world away from the steamy tropical jungles where the known species of big cat prowl. And y - The Cupar Roe Deer Carcass
Perhaps the most compelling piece of physical evidence to support the notion that big felid - The Beast of Bodmin
The bleak, forbidding moors of Britain's most South Westerly corner are the realm of the Beast of Bodmin. Thi - Trewithen Gardens, Truro
Despite being officially declared not to exist by a 1995 DEFRA investigation, the Beast of Bodmin chose the unlikely set - Peaslake, Surrey
In 1984, hair samples taken after a sighting of the Surrey Puma were said to have been positively identified by experts - Godalming Police Station\'s Surrey Puma footprint
In the 1960s the police station at Godalming kept on display a plaster cast of a pawprint, identified by experts from Lo - Is The Dangerous and Wild Animals Act 1976 Responsible for Big Cat Sightings?
The recurrent reports of big cats throughout the British Isles represents an interesting quandary for those intere - The Beast of Stroud
The gently undulating landscape of the Cotswolds may seem like an unlikely spot for a predatory, uncommonly large feline - Woodchester Park Deer Killing
Walkers on National Trust land near Selsey Hill were shocked to discover an eviscerated deer carcass on the 4th January - Beast of Stroud Caught on Video?
Do these few minutes of footage - shot at long range by teaching assistant Coryn Memory - shot the elusive Beast of - The Minto Leopard Cat
Gamekeeper Willie Thomas had suffered a series of pheasant kills on the Minto estates where he worked but was surprised - The Widecombe Leopard Cat
A farmer happened across an unusual cat chasing his geese and did as farmers do - drawing his gun on the beast and shoot - Confirmed Identifications and Escapees
Not all of Britain's mystery felids remain entirely elusive or beyond the wit of man to capture. Several big cats have b - The Shepley Lion
Amid all the routine annoyances of modern rail travel - signal delays, ancient rolling stock and broken heaters - - Bodmin Beast Skull - River Fowey
Shortly after the publication of the official Government report into the existence of the Beast of Bodmin, a boy walking