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Alien Big Cats ('ABCs')

In your opinion what are alien big cats most likely to be?

  • Escapees from collections, breeding in the UK countryside

    Votes: 58 47.2%

  • A species of endemic British big cat somehow overlooked by science

    Votes: 1 0.8%

  • Zooform Phenomena - animal-shaped manifestations of paranormal activity

    Votes: 6 4.9%

  • Misidentifications of big dogs, normal cats etc

    Votes: 30 24.4%

  • A big hoax

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Summat else

    Votes: 4 3.3%

  • All of the above

    Votes: 24 19.5%
  • Total voters
    123
An article from a Western Australian newspaper about a documentary to air on May 5 about ABC's in Australia. The article is hyped up as you'd expect making numerous comparisons along the way to the recent 'Tiger King' series, but the show itself could be promising for Aussie viewers.

On the hunt for mysterious big cats with WA's very own tiger king

He's been referred to as Australia's very own Tiger King, but apart from his surname, Vaughan King doesn't have much in common with Joe Exotic.

The Netflix show's star and the former WA boy both have a thing for big cats and, from May 5 when King appears in a new Discovery Channel documentary, both will be on television screens.

That, though, is where any similarity ends.

"I've only seen two episodes of the show, and it gave me the weirdest nightmares," King said.

"The guy's a crazy cat, but people can call me whatever they want. It's quite funny."

King, who grew up in Perth's southern suburbs before heading east to work with Steve Irwin at Australia Zoo, stars in The Hunt: In Search of Australia's Big Cats which debuts next week.

And while he won't give too much away, the professional big cat handler and researcher said the show was "compelling", and included footage of mysterious sightings collected from around the country, including Western Australia.
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https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/aust...ry-own-tiger-king/ar-BB13rtAI?ocid=spartandhp
 
Watching 'Tiger King' has maybe been playing on imaginations in Kent. A classic case of mistaken ABC identity. (They even got a helicopter out. No expense spared).
Armed police and a helicopter were scouring the Kent countryside for a big cat on the loose following a call from a member of the public, only to find a model tiger made of chicken wire and resin in the woodland of an 85-year-old sculptor. Juliet Simpson, who made the lifesize sculpture 20 years ago, was first alerted to the situation when a neighbour rang saying police were following up reports of a wild cat near her house in the village of Underriver.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/02/armed-police-called-out-to-catch-model-tigerThe police said they liked the model and thought it very lifelike, apparently :)
 
Two of my neighbours have reported sightings of a big, black animal in their gardens over the past few days. Apparently it's bigger than a dog and was able to jump over their 6 ft fences with ease. You'd think they'd have taken a photo but no...
I'll keep an eye out tonight. The neighbours are both kinda elderly and in bed early so perhaps the lights all being out early are what's attracting the "Beast".
We live in a quiet cul-de-sac but it has a wooded area known as "the Glen" (Lusset Glen) at the back which does harbour some wildlife. I've seen foxes and deer there over the years despite the fact it's right beside the A82 and Erskine Bridge.
 
Pumas/mountain lions/cougars, (they're all the same animal) are having a difficult time here in Canada and I think in at least parts of the USA. They need a minimum of 5 miles or 8 kilometers each per male cat for territory and hunting. There's just not enough room for them to exist the way nature wanted them to. A lot of them are starving and attacks against domestic animals and humans are becoming a big problem :(
 
Armed police called after 'big cat' spotted on the loose in exclusive north London enclave

One resident told how she and her daughter fled their garden and called police when the cat appeared from the bushes.

photo-2020-05-26-09-16-44.jpg


She said: “I was sitting having dinner with my daughter in the garden when the head appeared. It looked normal so I didn’t take much notice but then the body came out.

"It was elongated, really too big for a domestic pet. The markings were like that of a cheetah or leopard.

"We were scared. I said to myself ‘we should not be here’ and ran in the house. I took a picture on the way, it was a frightening.

"We called the police and armed officers started the hunt for the animal. They told us to stay inside. There were two police helicopters overhead. It was very dramatic, I can understand it. At that stage they had to think it was a dangerous wildcat.”

She said that officers later informed her that the animal was a domestic pet owned by a resident on The Bishops Avenue.

She added: “The police said they have still not found it but confirmed it was a lost domestic pet. That animal looked like no pet I have seen.”

An expert attending Winnington Road with officers spotted the “cheetah-like” creature before it escaped into undergrowth.

It was thought to be a Savannah, a cross between a cat and an African serval, which can be legally owned and is not seen as dangerous.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/hampstead-heath-big-cat-armed-police-a4450391.html

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
Armed police called after 'big cat' spotted on the loose in exclusive north London enclave

One resident told how she and her daughter fled their garden and called police when the cat appeared from the bushes.

photo-2020-05-26-09-16-44.jpg


She said: “I was sitting having dinner with my daughter in the garden when the head appeared. It looked normal so I didn’t take much notice but then the body came out.

"It was elongated, really too big for a domestic pet. The markings were like that of a cheetah or leopard.

"We were scared. I said to myself ‘we should not be here’ and ran in the house. I took a picture on the way, it was a frightening.

"We called the police and armed officers started the hunt for the animal. They told us to stay inside. There were two police helicopters overhead. It was very dramatic, I can understand it. At that stage they had to think it was a dangerous wildcat.”

She said that officers later informed her that the animal was a domestic pet owned by a resident on The Bishops Avenue.

She added: “The police said they have still not found it but confirmed it was a lost domestic pet. That animal looked like no pet I have seen.”

An expert attending Winnington Road with officers spotted the “cheetah-like” creature before it escaped into undergrowth.

It was thought to be a Savannah, a cross between a cat and an African serval, which can be legally owned and is not seen as dangerous.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/hampstead-heath-big-cat-armed-police-a4450391.html

maximus otter
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<snip>...not seen as dangerous.

That "expert" chose the wrong words. As soon as mom & daughter saw the cat, they thought they were in danger. lol
 
Oh, a cat like that I would try to befriend.

How large are those pots? it certainly looks more ABCs than recent, pitiful, offerings.
 
Mythopoeika said:
I wouldn't. That cat looks built for hunting.
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Apparently, they can be deadly to your furniture when bored. And, as with all cats, can be seriously detrimental to wild bird populations if allowed to roam.
 
Reports coming out of Fife, Scotland:

Nature returning or just 'tall tails'? Nine new reports of big cat activity in Fife and beyond

Nine separate accounts detailing big cat sightings in and around the Fife area have come to light in a recent discussion on social media.

One eyewitness account described “a huge black thing which slinked across one of the back farm roads” in rural Fife.

Another described seeing “a massive black cat near Dunfermline” while others reported seeing footprints while hiking in the Highlands.

Describing an encounter near East Neuk one post said: “My dad and brother have both seen a big cat in Fife. My brother is a biologist who has done field work in Africa, where leopards and lions would walk periodically walk through his camp, so I'd think he'd know a big cat when he saw it.”

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https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/tall-tails-nine-new-reports-18307457
 
Back in the late 90s I saw what I still believe to be a Puma stalking through the grounds of a private school. My friend was with me and I drummed into him to note how high the nettles came to on its body before I ran down to where it had been (they reached the cat's shoulders, came to my knees, which would make it a very tall pussycat). The Headmaster was unconcerned when I asked him what the story was with the lion in the grounds, he didn't bat an eyelid!

The other day I cycled past the place, first time in many years. Next door is a place called...LION Farm.
I'm going to have to go in and find out how the place got its name.
 
That Savannah cat does look like quite a big lad so I can understand the panic it caused.
 
They are technically known as Assyrian Racing Cats, bred for the local Grand Nationals.
The jockeys are tiny though and face being played about with for an afternoon before being ripped apart and eaten during the race. Most of the tiny jockeys have to be shot to put them out of their misery. I’m surprised we don’t have a thread for this.
 
Analogue Boy said:
They are technically known as Assyrian Racing Cats, bred for the local Grand Nationals.
The jockeys are tiny though and face being played about with for an afternoon before being ripped apart and eaten during the race. Most of the tiny jockeys have to be shot to put them out of their misery. I’m surprised we don’t have a thread for this.
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Are you joking? The world is so mad I can't tell any more.
 
New report from South West Victoria. It looks like a large feral cat to me.

Big cat caught on film in Otways, fueling belief that panthers roam our wild places

otways.jpg


A series of photos of a large, sleek black cat sauntering into the bush in south-west Victoria has reignited the long-held belief by some that panthers or pumas roam our wild places undetected.

Stories about populations of big, wild cats have been talked about since the 1830s, and the lush Victorian Otways region is just one place across the country where the rumours crop up time after time.

Professional photographer Amber Noseda was driving home from taking pictures of birds at Mount Sabine on Saturday afternoon when she spotted an unusual animal, which she initially thought was a black wallaby.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-10/otways-big-black-cat-caught-on-film/12335606
 
Min Bannister said:
To be fair, the woman actually says that herself. It is only the headline that mentions panthers. If I were her I would be pretty annoyed at being misrepresented like that!
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Agreed. It was pretty far into the article. Most people just read headlines and look at the picture. This is one reason we have such a major misinformation problem around the world today.
 
Back to the subject matter of ABC's in the UK in particular, it's always been a ridiculous concept that large apex predators such as black panthers (rare in their natural environment) are roaming the hills and dales of the UK, but people see them and many a wild goose chase has ensued, just like the UFO's to me it's all part of the same phenomena, I don't know what it is, or why (perhaps its got a wicked sense of humour)
 
Kondoru said:
There are many naturalists who take the matter seriously these days.
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I am sure they do, but they still haven't found any, my argument is that the subject should not be taken seriously, I think it should be taken more seriously because I believe that once we start to admit that the truth is stranger than most could ever imagine, we may start to understand the hows and whys

However much of me believes the whole ABC issue is part of the Trickster mythos,and whatever it is, is having a great deal of fun at the expence of humanity
 
The thing about cats, cats of all types, is they are very discrete

(With the exception of lions...)

A lot of naturalists have never seen one in the field, or at least seldom encountered one.

Look at the difficulty with observing our own wildcat.
 
Kondoru said:
The thing about cats, cats of all types, is they are very discrete

(With the exception of lions...)

A lot of naturalists have never seen one in the field, or at least seldom encountered one.

Look at the difficulty with observing our own wildcat.
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You are of course right, however it's about the sustainability of a population of big cats in the UK, I know there are plenty of deer in some parts of the country but we would see a lot more evidence of their presence.

What gives it away for me is, the behaviour, the now you see me now you don't, the leaving bits of ambiguous evidence, the fuzzy photos, and the witness selection (only some people see them) which of course can be said for lots of what we call Fortean Phenomena which leads me to think that its all part of the same thing as UFO's, Fairies and assorted monsters and apparitions.

To me I don't know which theory is stranger
 
Min Bannister said:
To be fair, the woman actually says that herself. It is only the headline that mentions panthers. If I were her I would be pretty annoyed at being misrepresented like that!
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It's a pity as a professional photographer she couldn't take better photographs.
 
Robbrent said:
Back to the subject matter of ABC's in the UK in particular, it's always been a ridiculous concept that large apex predators such as black panthers (rare in their natural environment) are roaming the hills and dales of the UK, but people see them and many a wild goose chase has ensued, just like the UFO's to me it's all part of the same phenomena, I don't know what it is, or why (perhaps its got a wicked sense of humour)
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https://www.britishbigcats.org/evidence.php

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161208-many-people-are-convinced-that-big-cats-roam-the-uk#:~:text=For example, a handful of,Isle of Wight in 1993

https://theconversation.com/big-cats-in-britain-urban-myth-or-scientific-fact-86656

It's pretty much a given that after the Dangerous and Wild animals Act 1976 that animals were dumped. Then you got under-reported escapees from zoo's etc.

Out of all the Fortean mysteries, this is pretty much true.
 
So, some pets were dumped in 1976?

they arent alive today; and they probably wouldnt live long anyway.

These are something else.
 
Kondoru said:
So, some pets were dumped in 1976?

they arent alive today; and they probably wouldnt live long anyway.

These are something else.
Click to expand...

Exactly! Its the same argument between the nuts and bolts UFO believers and those that believe they are something else, I guess those that believe they are living big cats could be called Tooth and Clawers!

The theme is always the same with this type phenomena

It makes this phenomena all the more fascinating, perhaps if people started to realise what it actually was it would move on to something different
 
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