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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: 57 48.3%

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

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Zooform Phenomena - animal-shaped manifestations of paranormal activity

    Votes: 6 5.1%

  • Misidentifications of big dogs, normal cats etc

    Votes: 28 23.7%

  • A big hoax

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Summat else

    Votes: 4 3.4%

  • All of the above

    Votes: 23 19.5%
  • Total voters
    118
The beast of Bodmin moor

Hello,
I am new to the fortean times message board and would like to
request your help. I am currently a student at Hull university
studing geography and I am preparing to write a dissertation
on the Home ranges of the beast of Bodmin moor and other
feral big cats. I would be very greatful if you have had any
experiences or sightings involving such big cats if you could tell
me about them, specifically regarding the location of the
sighting and the activity being performed by the big cat there.
Or if you have any ideas as to where else I can obtain this kind
of information, or what I could include it would be greatfully
recieved. Thank you very much,
Kevin Leah

[email protected]
[email protected]
 
Hi RevRev

I'm involved with the UKBigcats mailing list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKBigcats

You are more than welcome to join - that goes for anyone else out there interested in alien big cats - we're a friendly bunch and I'm sure you'll get plenty of info
 
Sussex man attacked by... a lynx????

man attacked by lynx

POLICE are investigating the bizarre sighting of what might have been a wild lynx in the village of Newick.

POLICE are investigating the bizarre sighting of what might have been a wild lynx in the village of Newick.
A farm worker, who has so far declined to be named publicly, telephoned police at Lewes at 5pm on Wednesday last week to say he had seen the beast on Newick Hill.
In fact he said the beast three times bigger than a domestic cat leapt at him while he was clearing a thicket.
A police spokesman said the man described grabbing it by the neck and wrestling with it, at which point it escaped into woods. It is understood the man was wearing gloves when he was attacked which may explain why he was not injured.
He described it as having pointed ears.
The police spokesman said lynx were not normally thought to be dangerous to humans. They often hunted deer, however. Equally, people should not hunt them down.
Big cat sightings have been frequent in East Sussex over the years, particularly in the areas north of Lewes and south of Uckfield.
It is thought these cats either escaped or were let out of private zoos, or made a bid for freedom after they were brought in to Gatwick.

From sussex news:
http://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/fullstory.asp?storyid=1
 
I have advanced notice of breaking news (actually to be announced on Thursday) of a black ABC that has been shot and killed by a farmer near to Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey (Kent) on the 20 October, when it sprang from cover at some pheasants that were disturbed by a dog. More here when I get it.
 
Nice one! Perhaps you oughta start a new thread with that one because it sounds quite interesting.
I'm aware of alien big cats being killed before in Scotland and Hampshire. I await this news with great interest!:D
 
Any more news about the abc which was killed? It's Thursday so were's the announcement?

I'm beginning to sound like a kid at Christmas
 
OK, story is carried in: Medway Today 30.10.01 p.19 ('Big Cat 'shot dead'); Medway Today 31.10.01 p.5 ('Big paws for thought'); Sheerness Times Guardian 1.11.01 p.23
('I saw our big cat shot') - text as follows:

Eyewitness claim to pheasant shoot drama

A BUILDER claims to have seen the big black cat of Sheppey being shot by pheasant shooters.

Steve Morton, 30, from Minster, was working at the edge of a field in Leysdown when he saw a large cat-like animal attack one of the shooter’s dogs.

He says it was then shot dead and picked up by the shooter who walked off with the animal’s body.

Mr Morton said: “It was about 11.30am to 12pm on Saturday October 20. I was putting a wall up when I noticed 12 to 14 of these shooters walking down the side of the field.

“I explained to the blokes I was working with, that the youngsters with them were beaters beating down the corn to spook the pheasants so they would fly into the air for the men to shoot.

“One of the dogs, a black Labrador, was picking up a pheasant that had been shot when I saw a large black cat, about three foot in length, coming out of the rough ground. I was about 120 yards away. It headed towards the dog and then there was a tussle between them.

“The next thing I knew one of the men had shot the cat dead. This was no ordinary domestic cat though, because when he picked it up halfway down the cat’s tail, its body was the length of the man’s leg and its head was dragging on the ground.”

Before picking up the body Mr Morton says the other shooters gathered round to see what had been shot.

He continued: “It caused quite a bit of commotion because these shooters are not meant to fire at ground level in case they hit a dog or a young beater. I know all this because I used to be a beater when I was younger.

“I’m an ex-serviceman who has served in the Gulf and Bosnia wars. I’ve seen some sights in my time but nothing like this. It left me speechless.”

Neil Arnold, researcher of large exotic cats in Kent, said: “I believe the black leopard seen on the island was shot, and someone will no doubt hush up the killing.

“It is wrong to kill such an animal, but it has probably been considered a threat to someone’s livestock and pets.

“This is a strange moment for me but I would like to know more about the whereabouts of the carcass. I always believed that some day someone on the Island would attempt to kill this cat because people have heard about it.”

The owner of the land, who was also on the shoot that morning, claims he did not see anything.
 
Panther shot in Kent

I am the exotic cat researcher who has enabled the Sheppey exotic cat shooting to reach the newspapers. Basically, I have reserached evidence and sightings across the county for nine years...the cat shot was going for a pheasant which had been killed during a shoot on Saturday 20th October 2001. The cat confronted a Black labrador dog and was then blasted by the 'farmer'. The body was taken away.
The cat on the island was possibly trapped and was always likely to be shot sooner rather than later. The Isle of Sheppey is remote but only sixty-square miles and incredibly flat. Much shooting goes on there but the shooters are not allowed to shoot at ground level. The carcass will never be seen now. I had monitored the animal for many months and despite the abundance of food at Sheppey, it is a harsh area and there is only one way to access the island - a bridge which is raised to prevent prisoners escaping from Eastchurch prison.
My only quib with researching such matters is the lack of genuine reserachers in the field. Many are enthusiastic but just as dangerous as the hunters. Too many so called 'experts' are seeking fame, ignoring zoological information and techniques, being confrontational toward trackers etc and not at all concerned about the welfare of the animal.
Many researchers expose 'their' areas, which is wrong.
The leopard is one of many that has perished by the bullet and usually the press misinform the public.
 
I'm reminded of that lynx that got caught. I wondered if there was any further news so I had a look:

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/weird/2001/october/ed04021001.html

Well, apparently she's doing well, but the question is where did she come from?...

"RSPCA inspector Dermot Murphy added: "We haven't been able to find out who owned the lynx but believe it was privately owned. Unfortunately, there's been an increase in people owning exotic animals and we would warn anyone hoping to do this to think carefully as they are not ideal pets in the home." "

-Justin.
 
re cat Investigators

Yes Neil I agree,

There are also a lot of good investigators out there also! Which I feel should be concentrated on and the bad ones forgotten about. These cats and the area's are not a well kept secret.
 
Hull

Hello Kev,

As catflap said you are welcome to join us on the list. Myself coming from Hull originally still keeps an interest on the Wildcat of the Wolds! There are many sightings in and around the Hull area itself, which is a little closer to you.

Mark Fraser.
 
Scottish Lynx

Then there are the genuine big cat sightings. There have certainly been cats on the prowl in Scotland. Three lynx were reported to be have been shot or trapped near Inverness as far back as 1926, although it may have been a journalistic hoax.


For more info go here http://www.bigcats.org/abc/index.html
 
I'm not actively researching the area, although I do clip stories from the news papers and I have to say I have loads of clippings from local and Dorset/Devon newspapers, I really do not believe that people who are familiar with this country's fauna are so easily mistaken.
There seems to be a rash of ABC activity around this area (South Somerset), enough to get the farmers pressurising MPs into an enquiry this summer.
 
Justin Anstey said:
I'm reminded of that lynx that got caught. I wondered if there was any further news so I had a look:

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/weird/2001/october/ed04021001.html

Well, apparently she's doing well, but the question is where did she come from?...

-Justin.
Click to expand...

Where are all of these creatures coming from? Flippancies aside, I really would not want to be attacked by a hungry lynx, let alone a puma/panther/leopard, and if some of these cats attack primates in their natural habitat....:eek!!!!:
 
The general theory is that the cats were kept as pets and then released in the 1970's when the government introduced the Dangerous Wild Animals act, which meant that owners would need a license and have to follow strict guidlines for keep big cats etc. The fact that they are still around suggests that they are breeding in the wild.

There have been, however, many sightings before the 1970's and they may have been escaped pets and releases from private zoos.

I wouldn't worry too much about becoming a puma's dinner. The cats seem to want to get away from people as quickly as possible - the lynx which attacked the farmer may have been hiding in the thicket when it was disturbed. The lynx is a very elusive animal and will avoid humans if at all possible.

Basically, if you should encounter a big cat - give it an escape route, don't turn your back on it, don't run, open your coat to make yourself look bigger and (my favourite piece of advice) talk to the cat on a calm reasurring voice - yeah right
 
Slightly off topic, but, Catflap, did you know you were supposed to have been invented by Sir Isaac Newton?

The story goes that when he was doing research into optics he was frequently working in a darkened room, and it annoyed him to have to keep opening the door for his cats, letting in the daylight. So he cut a small hole in the door and - voila! - the catflap!

(Well, it's about cats...)
 
Thanks Rynner that's made my life complete

Actually I chose Catflap as a name because I'm interested in ABC's and I'm a fan of Ade Edmonson who played a character called Eddie Catflap. I suppose I could have borrowed the name of one of his other characters Edward Elizabeth Hitler...
 
Sorry to be a scaredy-cat ( arf arf, very poor I know) but I have heard that pumas or mountain lions have been regularly attacking and eating people in America for the last few years.
A bit of raw hiker meat seems to go down well, despite the nylon coating.
I'll just carry a large sack full of catnip next time I'm out...
 
Big cat researchers

Why do 'big cat' researchers come out with the same old crap ? All the time the theories are the same the subject can never progress to a scientific reasoning.
Too many people out there think they have a well kept secret, they sit in armchairs and collect snippets from other people's work and call themselves a club or research group. Not all exotic cats were released in the '70s, most are not even 'big' cats and certainly not as big as people think.
Too many collect information as if they are going to change the world. All they are worried about is getting something on film and then become the 'man of the moment', it really is hilarious to watch them. Why should such a subject be taken seriously by the government or scientific community when so many crack-pots are out there calling themselves investigators and patrolling the countryside like men on a mission.
 
There's nothing wrong with a bit of armchair cryptozoology. Collecting and collating data is useful, as it brings together information and can provide a good research tool for those doing more active in-the-field studying. Clipping can mean that interested parties, without the time and resources to do anything else, can do their bit.

Don't forget, there was a man who spent his whole life doing little more than "sitting in his armchair collecting snippets from other people's work". His name was Charles Hoy Fort.

It is true though... there is summat out there, and the Government should be taking a more active role in seeking the critters out.
 
Big Cat report

i was down in Gweek (Cornwall) today and chatting to a farmer. just for somthing to say i asked if he'd ever seen the Beast. He mater of factly said yes about two years ago running across his top field one dusk, his wife had also seen it crossing the lane infront of the car. She thought it was a calf till it moved and she realised it was a cat!......i did a little talk to the WI a couple of years ago and was aproched by a lady who lived near Halvaso (about 4 miles from Gweek) and she said that there was a big cat there and had been for years. Well known in the area for following ploughing tractors and trying to catch the attracted gulls.
 
Big Cats and Bigfoot

Charles Fort's work is anecdotal and nothing more. Whilst his books are considered classics, thousands of people worldwide have seen weird things but eye-witness reports or recordings are still dismissed.
And such confrontations within the 'big cat' phenomenon remind me very much of bigfoot and how to this day researchers are swiping at each other instead of doing something productively as a unit. Shame...
I have worked beyond Kent, studying everything from the Highgate Vampire (the truth) to Satanism to UFOs and monsters in Scotland...and people tell me to go beyond kent, ha! ha!
I will just let everyone get on with it...GOD BLESS THEM ALL!!
 
Evilsprout said:
Don't forget, there was a man who spent his whole life doing little more than "sitting in his armchair collecting snippets from other people's work". His name was Charles Hoy Fort.

It is true though... there is summat out there, and the Government should be taking a more active role in seeking the critters out.
Click to expand...


Hurrah! I'm with this guy! Whatever their origin, the dead sheep and calves are piling up around here, and the local farmers are getting well annoyed by governmental apathy.
 
I just want to apologise to Neil for getting my wires crossed.

Mark Fraser, who gets as riled as Neil sometimes \ jumps in with both feet too many times .......... oh what a great game this is.

Good luck to you Neil.
 
Don't ask me mate, it seems we were all in agreement and yet still managed to argue!
 
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