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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
It's sad to read comments in the previous articles that in past it was not illegal for exotic cat owners to let random cats loose in wild to survive however they could.
 
WeirdExeter said:
Another (allegedly):

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/terrified-woman-says-growling-black-24588451

Again no mention of smell
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Hi WeirdExeter - All animals have a smell. The closer one gets, the more it is noticable. I do not smell most of the animals I see because I don't get close to them: cattle, dogs, cats, horses, etc. When I do get close, I can smell them.

Could you please share with us why you find it notable that most accounts do not state that the person smelled the animal? I don't understand.
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
Hi WeirdExeter - All animals have a smell. The closer one gets, the more it is noticable. I do not smell most of the animals I see because I don't get close to them: cattle, dogs, cats, horses, etc. When I do get close, I can smell them.

Could you please share with us why you find it notable that most accounts do not state that the person smelled the animal? I don't understand.
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Some people who have studied the ABC phenomena in-depth have concluded that the lack of actual physical evidence in contrast to the multitude of witness reports suggests they are paranormal in nature (see the poll at the top of this thread and the work of researcher Merrily Harpur in particular ).

The fact that no animal smell is reported adds weight to this theory because, as you say, all animals smell. A puma would have a distinctive scent that a resident of the UK is unlikely to have smelt before.
 
WeirdExeter said:
Some people who have studied the ABC phenomena in-depth have concluded that the lack of actual physical evidence in contrast to the multitude of witness reports suggests they are paranormal in nature (see the poll at the top of this thread and the work of researcher Merrily Harpur in particular ).

The fact that no animal smell is reported adds weight to this theory because, as you say, all animals smell. A puma would have a distinctive scent that a resident of the UK is unlikely to have smelt before.
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Thanks for this. Now I understand.

My understanding of the the UK ABC phenomena is that most, but not all, sightings were not close - 3 meters away for example. If the ABC was farther away than this, then the witness may not have smelled it, even if it had an odor as a biological, real animal. So, the lack of reported smells may not be indicative of a paranormal explanation. In my limited experience, big cats don't smell more than does a donkey or a small cow of the same size as the big cat. So, not very much even up close.

What was alarming to me, when I smelled the mountain lion in the dark out in the open, was that I had smelled it before and so could identify it. If I didn't know what it smelled like, I could never have guessed what it was. As it was, I was quite alarmed.

I am guessing that it is at least possible that the witnesses of the ABCs may have smelled a faint odor, but if they didn't know what a big cat smelled like, it would not have attracted their attention or been remembered.
 
'Big cat' seen at 's Gravenzande, nature organisation starts research
Nature organization Zuid-Hollands Landschap is investigating a number of reports about a "big cat" that has been seen at 's-Gravenzande. According to some reporters, it may be a lynx.

"There are quite a few reports," says a spokesman for the nature organization to the regional broadcaster Rijnmond. "But it often involves people who, for example, have a neighbor who has seen the animal, or something like that. In any case, our employees have not yet seen the animal."
Nevertheless, the number of reports is large enough to talk to the police about a possible search in the vicinity of where the animal would have been seen.

The animal would also have attacked people. The owner of Animal Ambulance De Wijs, who is active in the area, says to the local broadcaster WOS that he indeed thinks that a lynx can be.

The animal ambulance received a report yesterday from a woman who said that she came face to face with a large cat while walking the dog. She was not attacked. "Based on the description of the woman, it really seems that it is a lynx," says owner Theo de Wijs. "One thing is certain, in and around the dunes there are enough prey animals for a lynx."

Lynxes do not normally occur in the wild in the Netherlands. The animals have been spotted in the Belgian Ardennes. According to De Wijs, it is a possibility that the lynx was someone's. "It may be that someone illegally had a lynx in the house and now thought it would be very big and released it."

https://nos.nl/artikel/2406191-grot...gravenzande-natuurorganisatie-start-onderzoek
 
lordmongrove said:
The ABCs of Exmoor
https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/...dPMhQf7Sk6w7hT_ptuyYw0Yq8Y3MccIkGYHD9K2apuJT4
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Thanks, a decent article. Regrettably, too many media articles about ABCs are written by London-based journalists who do zero field work but instead seek out the least credible witnesses so that they can write it all off as"our surviving prehistoric instinct that fierce predators lurk in the woods" or some such blather.

Here is the link to Big Cat Conversations:

bigcatconversations.com

"Welcome to Big Cat Conversations​

The people‘s podcast on big cat encounters in Britain

In each episode Rick Minter discusses big cat incidents with different witnesses, finding out what they saw or sensed, how they felt, and how these cases might fit a bigger picture.

What is the bigger picture? Are pumas and black leopards naturalising in Britain, and if so, what are the implications, and how do we feel about it? How do we get more and better evidence?

BIG CAT CONVERSATIONS will tackle these questions with witnesses and occasional specialist guests.

If you‘ve had a big cat encounter, you‘re welcome to get in touch – email [email protected]"
 
A Guardian article that popped up in my newsfeed on ABC's in Australia & why they are unlikely to exist (and they people that believe they do):

Tall tails: why does the myth of exotic big cats prowling the Australian bush persist?​

Scott Lansbury had his first encounter 25 years ago. It was in the Victorian town of Upper Beaconsfield, close to midnight, where he and his brother saw the animal walking up the footpath across the road from where they lived.

“It was bigger than any dog I’ve ever seen,” he recalls. “Bigger than a labrador, bigger than a [German] shepherd.”

Lansbury is convinced the mystery animal, which he says was black and walked with a feline prowl, was a big cat. He says he has seen similar animals several times in the intervening years.

“I kept hearing other stories,” Lansbury says. So a decade ago, he started a Facebook group, Black panther sightings in Victoria, “sort of as a joke”. Since then, the group has grown to 36,000 people.
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-abba-to-no-5-spot-on-australian-music-charts
Members post a mixture of blurry images and footage, videos of big cats clearly taken in other countries, and avowed testimonies of personal encounters.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environ...big-cats-prowling-the-australian-bush-persist
 
Lord Lucan said:
A Guardian article that popped up in my newsfeed on ABC's in Australia & why they are unlikely to exist (and they people that believe they do):

Tall tails: why does the myth of exotic big cats prowling the Australian bush persist?​


https://www.theguardian.com/environ...big-cats-prowling-the-australian-bush-persist
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Donna Lu is a science journalist, and a seemingly good one at that as her work covers multiple media outlets:

https://muckrack.com/donna-lu/articles

However, she is not a big cat expert nor forester, ranger, conservationist or indeed any other profession that would substantiate her belief that exotic big cats are a 'myth'. So she takes the same line that London-based UK journalists take with exotic/alien big cats in Britain:

“It re-enchants the bush, it makes it mysterious, magical,” Waldron says. He has joined big cat hunters out on tracking jaunts at night, listening for animal sounds using directional microphones. “It’s quite an exciting and evocative thing to do.”

Just substitute 'bush' for 'countryside'.

Question for Ms Lu: did you even spend one night in the bush yourself? Or did you do all your research on the internet?
 
There are lots of 'big cats' out there, perfectly legitimately. Savannah cats, even some domestic moggies can get to a size that would make someone catching sight out of the corner of their eye, go 'what the hell was that?' There are big cats, and big cats, if you see what I mean.
 
catseye said:
There are lots of 'big cats' out there, perfectly legitimately. Savannah cats, even some domestic moggies can get to a size that would make someone catching sight out of the corner of their eye, go 'what the hell was that?' There are big cats, and big cats, if you see what I mean.
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Jon Downes (CFZ) talks of very large feral cats that once lived in the ruined bomb sites of Exeter after WW2 (plenty of rats I guess). Also a similar large feral cats on Exmoor
 
catseye said:
There are lots of 'big cats' out there, perfectly legitimately. Savannah cats, even some domestic moggies can get to a size that would make someone catching sight out of the corner of their eye, go 'what the hell was that?' There are big cats, and big cats, if you see what I mean.
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Like my sister's cat. He's a BIG floofball! But nothing special, just a much larger than average housecat.
 
marhawkman said:
Like my sister's cat. He's a BIG floofball! But nothing special, just a much larger than average housecat.
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There are a lot of well fed farm cats around my village (all related, I somewhat suspect), and some of them are huge enough to make me wonder what I've just seen, until I can fully focus on them.
 
staticgirl said:
It never occurred to me that feral cats might get really big if left to themselves. I find that very interesting.
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My Mum has one that lives in her back garden. Can't go near it. It's huge.
It seems to be doing a good job of clearing out the mice and rats.
 
staticgirl said:
It never occurred to me that feral cats might get really big if left to themselves. I find that very interesting.
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Well, it's the whole thing of natural adaptation. If being big is beneficial, then the biggest reproduce more and you end up with larger cats in the genepool.
2mV5LPj

if that doesn't work try this one:
https://flic.kr/p/2mV5LPj
If he was black and perched on a rooftop at night.... jules would probably scare the daylights out of people. Instead he's being held like a stuffed toy, because he likes being held by Abby.... and also Martha's not sure if he thinks chihuahuas are food. Jules wanders the woods hunting rather often, and has been known to decide he's not hungry when Abby feeds him. Note the "please don't eat me" look on Jayda's face. :D
 
Well, I found this from 2019:

https://www.independent.co.uk/clima...wilding-devon-derek-gow-extinct-a8929311.html

"Mr Gow wants to bring wildcats back to the areas where they previously thrived. “We’re hopefully releasing three litters of kittens into the complex this year, and then eight next year,” he told The Independent.

“We’re aiming to get to the stage where we have a cat breeding population capable of producing 150 kittens a year. This should happen in three years and then we’ll start releasing them into the wild. I would like to have wild cats all over the UK,” he said."

The beaver has made a comeback in Devon, but does anyone know how this progressed...?
 
marhawkman said:
Well, it's the whole thing of natural adaptation. If being big is beneficial, then the biggest reproduce more and you end up with larger cats in the genepool.
2mV5LPj

if that doesn't work try this one:
https://flic.kr/p/2mV5LPj
If he was black and perched on a rooftop at night.... jules would probably scare the daylights out of people. Instead he's being held like a stuffed toy, because he likes being held by Abby.... and also Martha's not sure if he thinks chihuahuas are food. Jules wanders the woods hunting rather often, and has been known to decide he's not hungry when Abby feeds him. Note the "please don't eat me" look on Jayda's face
Click to expand...
Wow, Jules is the same colouring and the medium hair as my Rupert. I think that I can see fur between his toes? Rupert has lots of fur between his toes and slides on the floor if he is running too fast (like that happens very often lol). Rupert is a normal barn (moggie as used in UK) cat. He is 20 lbs and looks that big, though I think Jules is slightly bigger.
 
WeirdExeter said:
Well, I found this from 2019:

https://www.independent.co.uk/clima...wilding-devon-derek-gow-extinct-a8929311.html

"Mr Gow wants to bring wildcats back to the areas where they previously thrived. “We’re hopefully releasing three litters of kittens into the complex this year, and then eight next year,” he told The Independent.

“We’re aiming to get to the stage where we have a cat breeding population capable of producing 150 kittens a year. This should happen in three years and then we’ll start releasing them into the wild. I would like to have wild cats all over the UK,” he said."

The beaver has made a comeback in Devon, but does anyone know how this progressed...?
Click to expand...
is it a variety of "wild" cat that hybridizes with domestic cats? 'cause if it is.... "eee a kitten!" - some pre-teen probably. then it's less wild and mostly just cat.... yeah, I heard that's the reason they're "extinct".... genetic dilution. Not hunted out of existence.... but.... hybridized and then no longer wild. IE the "species" still exists, but is not "pure", and the ones that still exist are in many cases pets. Let's face it.... most people can't tell the difference. Random brown moggie or a certified wildcat? Only experts can tell..... children just go "kitty!" and then:
Wildcat or domestic? Enh.... does it really matter if it lives in a 13-year-old's bedroom? Sure, wildcats are less easy to handle, but.... if it's raised from young enough that might not matter. I've seen domestics that are so feral they run and hide any time they see a person. Nurture matters a LOT in cat personalities.
brownmane said:
Wow, Jules is the same colouring and the medium hair as my Rupert. I think that I can see fur between his toes? Rupert has lots of fur between his toes and slides on the floor if he is running too fast (like that happens very often lol). Rupert is a normal barn (moggie as used in UK) cat. He is 20 lbs and looks that big, though I think Jules is slightly bigger.
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Yeah I think that's about the same as Jules. Doesn't have a pedigree, just a kitten that grew larger than most. And yeah I managed to weigh Jules a few years back and I think he was about that weight... but I don't remember.

And yeah.... if he's really trying to make a fast turn... maybe... doesn't happen often though. Jules spends a lot of time "interacting" with the local wildlife in the woods. He's not nimble enough to catch birds.... or at least we've never seen him do it. I have seen him.... wait for a bird to make a mistake though. He seems to love hunting rabbits though.

Who needs wildcats for "population control" of wild rabbits when moggies will do it? Well Jules and a female wildcat.... yeah... more hybridization.
 
For what it's worth. my wife took the attached photo yesterday on farmland near Southburgh, Norfolk. She says that the cat was about 100m away and about the size (or slightly larger) of a beagle dog. She had it in sight for about 10 seconds.

To me, it looks like a large domestic cat, especially as there's nothing to judge the size by. However, she says she was struck by how long it was compared to an average cat (we have a large cat of our own, so she is familiar with them)..
 

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pb0311 said:
For what it's worth. my wife took the attached photo yesterday on farmland near Southburgh, Norfolk. She says that the cat was about 100m away and about the size (or slightly larger) of a beagle dog. She had it in sight for about 10 seconds.

To me, it looks like a large domestic cat, especially as there's nothing to judge the size by. However, she says she was struck by how long it was compared to an average cat (we have a large cat of our own, so she is familiar with them)..
Click to expand...
*wants to pet the pretty kitty*

definitely looks like a house cat prowling the country side to me.
 
pb0311 said:
For what it's worth. my wife took the attached photo yesterday on farmland near Southburgh, Norfolk. She says that the cat was about 100m away and about the size (or slightly larger) of a beagle dog. She had it in sight for about 10 seconds.

To me, it looks like a large domestic cat, especially as there's nothing to judge the size by. However, she says she was struck by how long it was compared to an average cat (we have a large cat of our own, so she is familiar with them)..
Click to expand...
Using this general guide as to size and shape. . .
1644955494449.png
the image outline does have a sizeable tail and front shoulder (larger than the domestic cat), also a slightly raised shoulder blade and deep belly outline. Neck does look a good bit narrower though. So, hmm, 50/50? No reason why it might be a younger version of Puma though?
 
Sid said:
Using this general guide as to size and shape. . .
View attachment 52065 the image outline does have a sizeable tail and front shoulder (larger than the domestic cat), also a slightly raised shoulder blade and deep belly outline. Neck does look a good bit narrower though. So, hmm, 50/50? No reason why it might be a younger version of Puma though?
Click to expand...
Does this line of reasoning account for floof?
272272874_253879900226235_4583975675410446352_n.jpg

Floof changes the outline and apparent proportions :D
 
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