Sighting of the Week

This remarkable sighting comes from near Lostwithiel, Cornwall, on the edge of Bodmin moor, where the 'Beast of Bodmin' has been sighted many times over the years. It took place around 6.30 pm on the 4th April 2008. Our witness, a local woman who was walking her dog, takes up the story:-

"I was walking along the forest path, which is generally deserted, and used mainly by local people. Another woman was coming towards me with a Collie dog. As we approached each other, our dogs started to play together, and I stopped to hold a conversation with the dog's owner. As we were chatting, the large cat came shooting out of the woods with a dead lamb hanging limply from its mouth. It appeared startled to see us, and hesitated, as though it was planning which direction to run. it stood less than 20 feet away from us for at least 5 seconds, before my dog started to head towards it, and it shot off, over to the other side of the woods. The other woman, and I were amazed, but surprisingly, not afraid until my dog started to chase the animal, and then I realised a degree of danger. After about 10 minutes, chatting with the woman, about what we had seen, I continued my walk, taking the same route as I do most days. After about 20 minutes of my sighting, I met a group of holidaymakers (4 people. It was during the Easter break, at the time). As I passed them, they seemed agitated, and I asked them if they were O.K. They blurted out to me that they had seen what appeared to be a "black panther" dash past them, about 10 minutes ago. I was rather pleased that so many people also sighted this large cat.

"I feel very privileged to have seen this creature. It was beautiful, and my only regret is that I didn't have a camera with me at the time, as it stood still long enough for me to have gotten a first rate photograph."

What sparked off your interest in mystery cats in Britain?

My own interest in British big cats was sparked off by tales people told me. I’m a folklorist and collect traditional and new tales about the Wiltshire landscape. Among the accounts of strange experiences people have passed on to me, have been one or two sightings of big black beasts – sometimes clearly cats, sometimes unidentifiable, always inexplicable. I joined BCIB to get access to their database of big cats sightings for Wiltshire, and also to learn more about the evidence for big cats in Britain. In my dealings with BCIB I’ve been trying to solve the question: ‘folklore or fact?’ I’ve not seen or heard a cat myself (not sure if I’m pleased about that or disappointed!).

I recently floated the question ‘What sparked off your interest in mystery cats in Britain?’ on the BCIB email discussion list, to try to get a feel for the range and depth of interest among members. Here are some of the replies, which fall neatly into two camps:-

Reading or seeing TV programme about them

“After I read Cat Country by Di Francis 20 years ago or more.” Darren R.

“Reading Strange Creatures from Time and Space by John Keel in my early teens.” Darren E.

“I think what started it off for me was the stories of the Beast of Exmoor and the Beast of Bodmin. Also the programmes that they had made at the time.” Jennifer

“I’ve always been interested in mysteries since I can remember as a child - books by Di Francis inspired me to take up the quest in the 80s which I did - had a lull for a few years before starting again. Also it is on our doorstep so it is a mystery that can be readily investigated.” Mark Fraser

“From early childhood I had a great love for big cats, so when they were reported on the news and in newspapers (in the 60s and 70s I remember The Beast of this and The Beast of that) I was only too willing to believe them. I wanted them to be there and I wanted to see them. As I was so young, I couldn't believe that anyone would make a story of this nature up. When some of the witnesses were reported as being policemen or whatever - credible witnesses - it just strengthened my belief that big cats WERE out there ..... somewhere. I really didn't think that it would take this long to find conclusive evidence.” Cheryl

“Gerald Durrell, Graham Dangerfield and Di Francis's Cat Country, and in that order. Plus I am Leo birthsign, might have something to do with it! lol” Alan

Actually seeing a big cat, or knowing someone who has seen one

“I became interested in big cats after I had my own sighting of one.” Donna

“My interest was sparked whilst on a cricket weekend in the late 80s in Crowcombe, Somerset. I sat and listened to one of the locals talk at some length to members of our party about a black panther that he had regularly seen around the area. Armed with this info a few of us, maybe foolishly, went looking for it. I was hooked! I also had the good fortune to glimpse a mountain lion in California, near the ranch where I was staying. Also living close to Cannock Chase where there have been numerous sightings, and being present when a colleague of mine was sure he'd glimpsed a black cat on Beaudesert Golf Club, has rekindled my interest.” Martin R

“I'd been interested in the Surrey Puma for some years and we then got reports of a big cat in Cambridgeshire which soon got the name "The Fen Tiger". It's Black of course. One evening whilst walking my German Shepherd "Goliath" we were "roared" at by something. I was then hooked on big cats. Having then carried a 35 mm camera for years when the opportunity came I took 6 or 7 photos. Guess what? Due to the short lens I had 6 or 7 full-stop size photos of the Fen Tiger. I've tried all sorts of ways to make them viewable but no luck. I've had a few fairly good sightings since and of course the one in Horncastle with Mark Fraser 4 years ago. Witnesses often have said, "I usually have a camera with me but not when I saw the big cat", so in my emails I now have the signature: Take care and take a camera. My latest camera has a 56X zoom lens. No more full-stops for me!” Terry Dye

So – how about you?

Take our poll (on the sidebar) and tell us what sparked off your interest in mystery cats in Britain.

Sighting of the Week

Around 11pm on 18th March 2008, a man observed a very large cat in his garden on Anglesey. He saw the animal for about 20 seconds, long enough to take in a large sandy-coloured cat with pointed ears. The cat was around three feet high sitting upright. The witness relates:-

"Whilst coming back from the dustbin I saw the animal sitting next to the wall of the house about 25 feet away. I thought it was a dog at first due to its size. It was motionless and just staring at me. There is a security light that I had activated and it was casting some light on the animal. As I focused on the animal I realised it was a cat... a very large cat. I own 2 Bengal cats so I do know what they look like. My wife opened the door and it turned and went in the opposite direction down the bank.

I am sure it was a puma and it scared the living daylights out of me... Its stare was so intense."

BCIB 2008 Conference on YouTube

All the talks from this year's BCIB conference are now on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

The theme of the conference was 'Big Cats: what is the evidence?' I went down for the day on Saturday, and for me, the speakers that day who most addressed the question were:-

• Jon McGowan talking about field signs of big cats in Dorset.
• Chris Hall talking about big cats in the north-east.
• Darren Naish who took us back to prehistoric times and showed us the evidence (in the bone and fossil record) of big cats that were native to Britain during the Pleistocene.

What the videos can't get across is the atmosphere of the day, which was friendly and enthusiastic. Over lunch (and no doubt even more so in the pub later) there was much discussion, sharing of tales, and comparing of notes. I heard several variants on the theme of 'My best big cat encounter ever'...

Hosts Chris Moiser and Jane Bassett made us very welcome at Tropiquaria and many of us enjoyed the opportunity to see the animals, which all looked happy in their various enclosures. My favourites? The wallaby with a joey in its pouch, and two comedy emus. Later Chris and Jane took us on a twilight walk through their tropical house. Not a big cat in sight, but at least I got to stroke an iguana.

History Channel in search of British Big Cats

The History Channel will be in search for evidence of British Big Cats as part of their 'Monster Quest' series. They will be filming at the end of March - beginning of April.

The search is on for the evidence, video footage, casts, photographs, recordings, eye-witness accounts. Have you seen a big cat in the British countryside? More importantly, have you any evidence?

A search for a suitable location, on land with frequent sightings, is also being sought for two nights' filming. Can you help?

Every day, big cats are reported from somewhere in Britain, yet the hard evidence to support these black cats is virtually non-existent. People are obviously seeing something, but what? Can you help clear up the mystery?

Mark Fraser is collating the evidence: please contact him on 07940 016972, or email at bigcatsinbritain@btinternet.com or visit the website at http://www.bigcatsinbritain.org/

Big Cats in Britain (BCIB) is the only group in Britain dedicated on a daily basis to finding out the answers to the big cat mystery. We have a core of experts that we can call upon, including scientists, zoologists, professional trackers, and police officers.

Hot off the Press - BCIB Yearbook 2008

Published just in time for the BCIB conference this weekend, this essential volume was selling like hot cakes to delegates.

Edited by Mark Fraser and with a foreword by Merrily Harpur (author of another essential volume, Mystery Big Cats), the 2008 yearbook contains a variety of articles by BCIB researchers. But the core of the yearbook is, as ever, the Big Cat Diary: a county-by-county roundup of all sightings reported to BCIB in 2007.

If you read this blog and want to know more about the cats and the people who see them, this book is for you. Available from Amazon or from your local bookshop - just give them the following information:-

Big Cats in Britain yearbook 2008; edited by Mark Fraser. Published by CFZ Press. ISBN 978-1-905723-23-2.

Also available: BCIB yearbook 2007; BCIB yearbook 2006.

Sighting of the week (OK, fortnight really)

Leicestershire. Anstey Heights area. Back in September 2007, two friends were out dog walking in fields, when some nearby bushes rustled and a huge jet black cat came out. For one long minute the two people and a dog stared at the cat and the cat stared back. Then the two friends and dog ran to the safety of a nearby alley, and the cat disappeared back into the bushes.

"The cat was huge, over 5 feet long. I could tell by the body shape it wasn't just a big dog or whatever else, those big paws and big muscley legs. I know what it was, and it was a panther or a puma or whatever you call them. It ran very fast. I walk in these fields all the time and just want to know what to do in case I am confronted by one. Nobody believes me and I'm not sure who to tell so I'm telling you. They are out there."

Other sightings over the last fortnight have come in from Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, Essex, Fife, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, and West Glamorgan. Full details will be posted in the members area of the BCIB website.

Sighting of the Week

Northamptonshire, Wellingborough area, 17 Feb 2008, 2.30 p.m.
A family of four out for a walk all saw a very large black cat.

"We were going for a long walk through the fields; the area was deserted and quiet; weather beautiful. I was ahead of my husband and children and had just turned into a gap in the hedgerow to go into the next field, when I noticed a big brown/ black animal about 5m away from the hedgerow/ spinney; I thought at first it was another Muntjac deer, but then the tail was clearly far too long and big and it moved like a cat; it jumped away once my husband and (noisy) children had caught up with me."

Other sightings reported over the last fortnight include Lynx (2), and large cats of different colours: grey (2), fawn (1), and the ubiquitous black (11).

Big cats in the media

Some of the media reports of big cat sightings across the country.

• Could Beast of the Bay be back on the prowl? Whitby Gazette 11/2/08
• Fishermen claim to have spotted 'puma' on Anglesey. Holyhead & Anglesey Mail, 11/2/08.
• Big cat encouter leaves John feline concerned. Welwyn & Hatfield Times 13/2/08
• Farmers fear return of 'Saddleworth Savage'. Oldham Advertiser 13/2/08
• Mystery of severed leg found in garden. Harborough Mail, 14/2/08
• Police reveal 'big cat' sightings. BBC Shropshire, 18/2/08

Under discussion...

The BCIB members' email list has been busy over the last fortnight. Here's one of the topics under discussion...

Wild boar and big cats
Might our growing population of wild boar be predated by big cats? Dr Martin Goulding of the British Wild Boar website replies:-

"Wild boar are very good at defending themselves and a big cat is unlikely to risk injury taking on a adult boar. Juvenile boar and piglets may be taken though, and this is known to occur in Polish forests with lynx predating small boar. "