Various people, including a BCIB-affiliated researcher, have seen a large fawn, almost tawny-coloured cat on several occasions recently along the Teign Valley in Devon. One report describes a 5-foot-long cat running effortlessly across a ploughed field. The experienced witness categorically identified the cat as a puma (cougar).
Sunday, 27 January 2008
Big Cats in the Media
Sightings reported in the media this week: --
- Beast of Blackdown returns? -- Western Morning News
- Savagely mauled sheep carcass raises fears of big cat lurking in Somerset hills -- Daily Mail
- The beast is back after new sighting in woods - Peterborough Evening Telegraph
2007 CatStats at a Glance
BCIB's Mark Fraser has on record 675 reports of big cat sightings across the UK for 2007. Here's the breakdown by country, then by county ranked in order of sightings: --
England
Yorkshire 64 / reports
Devon 38 / reports
Somerset 37 / reports
Leicestershire 36 / reports
Wiltshire 31 / reports
Gloucestershire 31 / reports
Norfolk 23 / reports
Kent 18 / reports
Shropshire 15 / reports
Essex 14 / reports
Buckinghamshire 14 /reports
Cornwall 12 / reports
Dorset 12 / reports
Cambridgeshire 12 / reports
Derbyshire 10 / reports
Sussex 10 / reports
Staffordshire 10 / reports
Berkshire / 9 reports
Cheshire / 9 reports
CO Durham 9 / reports
Hertfordshire 9 / reports
Lancashire 8 / reports
Northumberland 8 / reports
Lincolnshire 7 / reports
Rutland 7 / reports
Suffolk 7 / reports
Surrey 7 / reports
Northamptonshire 6 / reports
Hampshire 6 / reports
Cumbria 5 / reports
Middlesex 4 / reports
Nottinghamshire 4 / reports
Oxfordshire 4 / reports
Teesside 4 / reports
Cleveland / 3 reports
Worcestershire 3 / reports
Bedfordshire / 2 reports
Warwickshire 2 / reports
Tyne & Wear 1 / reports
Scotland
Fife 19 / reports
Aberdeenshire 17 / reports
Renfrewshire 9 / reports
Angus & Forsarshire 9 / reports
Ayrshire 9 / reports
Banffshire 8 / reports
Argyll & Bute 6 / reports
Dumfries & Galloway 5 / reports
West Lothian 3 / reports
Inverness-shire 3 / reports
Caithness 2 / reports
Dunbartonshire 2 / reports
Morayshire 2 / reports
Nairnshire 2 / reports
Perthshire 2 / reports
Stirlingshire 2 / reports
Sutherland 1 / reports
East Lothian 1 / reports
Roxburghshire 1 / reports
Selkirkshire 1 / reports
Lanarkshire 1 / reports
Wigtonshire 1 / reports
Berwickshire 1 / reports
Wales
Glamorgan 6 / reports
Denbigshire 4 / reports
Monmouthshire 3 / reports
Anglesey 2 / reports
Cardiganshire 1 / report
Brecknockshire 1 / report
Carmarthenshire 1 / report
Montgomeryshire 1 / report
N Ireland
CO Antrim 2 / reports
CO Armagh 1 / report
CO Derry 1 / report
CO Tyrone 1 / report
Ireland
CO Monaghan 6 / reports
CO Donegal 2 / reports
CO Sligo 1 / report
BCIB conference in sightings hotspot
Big Cats in Britain Conference: Somerset March 2008
37 reports last year in the county
It is over 40 years since the first public spate of sightings hit the headlines with the Surrey Puma, yet we are still no closer to solving the mystery. Experts from all over the country will be gathering to discuss if these cats really are all black leopards? Hybrids? or a relic, indigenous species that we never knew existed alongside us, ever since the Ice Age?The Big Cats in Britain group average three sightings daily from all over the countryside including Ireland, in fact people these days are more likely to see a big cat rather than a pig.
The conference will be held at Tropiquaria near Watchet, Somerset, on the weekend of the 7th of March. Conference organiser Mark Fraser said: “Each year the BCIB group www.bigcatsinbritain.org hold a conference with guest speakers, focusing on the ever increasing reports of apparent large cats in the British Isles. This years speakers include Merrily Harpur, Richard Freeman, Jonathan Downes, Chris Moiser, and Dr Darren Naish. Also in attendance will be local researchers, and Nigel Brierly will be making a guest appearance.
It is now generally accepted that there are large cats in the British countryside, the question is, what are they? BCIB logged 37 big cat reports for the county last year, and are interested in hearing from witnesses who believe they may have seen a big cat in the area. We are especially interested in any hard evidence such as photographs, casts etc. Complete anonymity will be given to witnesses.
Everyone is welcome to attend the conference and it should be a weekend to remember. There is so much interest in big cat sightings now and this will a chance for people to hear from experts, as well as the many people who have actually seen them with their own eyes.
The conference starts on the Friday until the Sunday evening. There will be book stalls, debates, quiz, raffle, stalls and a tour of Tropiquaria. Full details can be found on the website www.bigcatsinbritain.org or contact organiser Mark Fraser on 07940 016972.
A sampling of Somerset reports made directly to BCIB
February: Black cat (not sure) it was in silhouette. Tail: 2 foot long - 2 and a half feet at shoulder and 4 foot long. Seen for 45 seconds about 20 metres away.“I was walking my dog near Spaxton, I saw a deer running a full speed then realised it was being chased by a big cat. I watched it until it disappeared then heard it growl.” (Source: BCIB).
24th February: Two friends, Paul Smith and Peter Coales had been up in the Quantocks when they spotted what they say was a large black cat. (Source: BCIB).
25th April: I've had an email from a lady today that lives not to far from me (Simonsmith) about a big cat that visit’s her garden. She first saw it about a year ago, she then went and planted a catnip plant in her garden. Since then every few days it comes back to her garden it comes in smells around and then just lies there.(Source: Anthony Bevan).
2nd May: Three witnesses; Yeo Valley Foods, Isleport Business Park, Highbrige Reddish fawn - about 5 feet long - 2 to 3 high. Tufted ears - short tail. Seen for10 to 15 minutes at a distance of 100 feet - 5 feet long - 2 to 3 feet high.“I am a lorry driver on a pick up from Yeo valley foods - waiting in cab on loading bay. Opposite is scrub ground fenced in tall grass bushes. I saw movement, reddish fawn colour, then I saw its head - it was a big cat, ear short dark tips, white inside, dark tip to nose white under jaw. It just ambled away from fence behind some scrub. I got out the cab and got another driver local to the area and went to the fence, spotted it again , got another driver over local to area, We watched it as it made its way through scrub ground. It turned its head several times - cathead - moved like a cat hunting. Now it went over side of ground - went along railway bar type fence back just visible above grass too big to go through fence went under in to some marsh ground with reeds - saw it turn its head back then it was gone. When up against fence able to gauge length / height 5 feet long - 2 to 3 high didn’t look to have much of a tail. One driver local said it was a cat too. I have not heard of any reports.” (Source: BCIB).
4th May: Shortwood Lane, Litton. Dark red to dark brown, very slight barring, pointed ears, thin tail about one foot (not long). Seen for about 45 seconds at a distance starting at 100 yards closing to 5 yards. Height about 20 inches at the shoulder, small round head with pointed ears and short nose, shortish tale, long thin body, long legs, longer at the back. Not a heavy animal.“Cycling up the lane (South eastward) relatively silently at dusk with headlight on, could see something in road 100 to 75 yards ahead, as I closed on it realised it was an animal in the middle of the road with back to me, it was picking at a road kill carcase, as I neared it turned it's head and looked at me then without rush, got up and sloped off into a very thick hedge/thicket on my left. This was certainly not a fox and was far too tall to be a domestic cat. It was about 200 yards from the nearest dwelling. Apart from the thick hedge, there are open fields around the site with a wood three fields away.“I walk the area very regularly and see lots of the wildlife, I two years ago, in adjoining field saw eyes at night (with a large torch) which were not explainable as deer, fox or badger. This sighting was as a result of my sheepdog making me aware of and challenging an animal I had not seen. Dog was very aggressive and barking madly.” (Source: BCIB).
May: Frome - Somerset. Spotted a large black cat from 80 yards away, which seemed to be stalking something in fields near Frome. (Source: BCIB).
1st June: Adam Weightman - Two witnesses. A37 approaching Midsomer Norton at midnight when the cat ran out from the roadside - very fast and agile, jumped into a hedge on the opposite side of the road. Dark reddish, spots, short tail, looked very similar to a lynx - docked but wide and floppy. Pointed ears. Seen for ten seconds at a distance of 50 meters / similar size to a large dog. (Source: BCIB).
28th July: 15.30 - Two witnesses. On a footpath behind 'Old Fosse Road' Odd Down, Bath. Black - no markings. Thick and long tail. Taller and longer than a domestic cat, but smaller than a panther. Seen for10 seconds - about 30 - 40 feet away.“We were walking along a tree lined footpath, towards Odd Down, with rugby club field and new housing development to our left. The cat was moving towards us, then turned in profile, saw us and disappeared through the hedge into the rugby club field. (Source: BCIB).
24th August: 4am - Lynx-like cat spotted along Touches Lane, Chard. Could not make out the colour - lynx. Tail: short, it was only a fleeting sight, tufted ears. About the size of a medium dog, 15- 20 seconds“I was woken by a very strange sound and so I looked out the window, we have an orange light flashing outside our house and I caught a glimpse of something moving, as I looked harder it trotted into the forest next to our house a weird whooping type noise, we have also heard a screeching noise several times but have seen nothing“No other sightings really just weird behaviour from our dog and the decline in deer sightings as we used to get them in our garden all the time“If this is a lynx , we live near a wildlife park ( Cricket St Thomas) and it could be that it may have escaped from there.” (Source: BCIB).
September: Panther sighting at Colfors near Frome. (Source: Marcus Mathews).
24th December: Last night, 24th December a very reliable person was driving his car just past Tropiquaria heading towards Simonsbath when he saw two big cats in the road in front of him. He has studied photos of big cats and was able to identify them as being lynx, the cats jumped over the hedge at the side of the road as the gentleman approached. The gentleman has worked in the countryside with animals all his life, is very knowledgeable of native wildlife, and is a very reliable person. It was dark, about 7.30pm and as he came round a bend before reaching Minehead, he saw the two cats in front of him in the road, one jumped over a hedge at the side of the road and the other stayed still and looked at the car and when he got closer this cat then jumped over the hedge. He drives a Vauxhall Astra and the hedge was higher then his car. He said that their pointed ears stood out as he was looking at them from behind. (Source: Christoper Johnston & Anthony Bevan).
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Big Cat Roundup 2008-02
Reports of sightings received by BCIB over the last week.
England
Dorset
Cranborne area – 18th January 2008, 4:20 pm. Two witnesses saw a large black cat run across the road about 20 yards in front of their car. It moved into the forest and they watched it walk off.
Gloucestershire
Cheltenham area – 12th January 2008. Two witnesses found a deer carcass that exhibited characteristics of being a big cat kill.
Forest of Dean – 14th January 2008, 5pm. A driver rounding a corner observed an animal on the verge, deer-size but lower to the ground, not a dog.
Minchinhampton area – 12th January 2008. A witness found huge pawprints in a dusting of snow on the edge of open ground. The prints were as big as her hand, and spacing indicated an animal much larger than most dogs.
Somerset
Williton – 12th January 2008. A witness reported that a big black cat was seen by several people as it was walking along a field hedgerow. It has been seen in this area twice before by the same witness, and deer remains have also been found.
Staffordshire
Lower Loxley area – 17th January 2008. A couple driving towards Stafford observed a big black cat, stalking through the grass in a field some 25-30 metres from the road.
Sussex
Brighton area – 25th December 2007. A witness saw a large black cat moving around the edge of a small wood on the south downs.
Wales
Monmouthshire – 30th December 2007. A witness driving along the A40 between Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth observed a large black animal moving around and lying down in a field some distance from the road.
Saturday, 12 January 2008
Big Cat Roundup 2008-01
Reports of sightings received by BCIB over the last week.
England
Devon
Stoke Gabriel area -- security lights around barns on the farm are being set off by a large animal, possibly a big cat.
Gloucestershire
Forest of Dean -- recently a cyclist following a Forest cycle trail came across the sheep carcass that he thought might have been a big cat kill.
Read more at This Is Gloucestershire.
Horsley area -- 3 January 2008. A couple walking down a small Cotswold lane were amazed to come upon a large black cat, 4-5 feet in length, intently watching something in a hedgerow. They watched for about 15 minutes as the cat sat looking into the hedge. Sadly, they had no camera!
BCIB have recent reports of two more sightings of very large black cats in this area.
Leicestershire
Leicester -- 3 January 2008, 1:30 p.m. A BCIB researcher, waiting at traffic lights, saw from her car a large black cat lying down in shrubs beneath an electricity pylon.
Uppingham area -- 18 December 2007 and 4 January 2008. Two sheep killed overnight exhibit characteristics of big cat kills.
Lincolnshire
Stamford area -- 5 January 2008. On his way to work, a van driver turned a corner and saw a large black cat by a fence post. In the headlights its eyes had "a magnificent orange glow".
Northamptonshire
Northampton -- 6 January 2008, 4 p.m. Two witnesses driving down a slip road onto a busy dual carriageway observed what they judged to be a very large black feral cat actually crossing the pedestrian walkway over the dual carriageway.
Oxfordshire
Banbury area -- 10 January 2008. Farmers in the area have reported sheep kills, and suspect big cats.
Shropshire
Telford -- 1 January 2008, 3:20 p.m. A couple out walking noticed a large (5-6 feet long) black cat climbing up an embankment in a nearby field. They watched it for a few seconds until it noticed them and disappeared into the undergrowth.
Yorkshire
Drax area -- 30 December 2007. A deer carcass discovered by a walker exhibited characteristics of a big cat kill. There have been a number of reports of big cat sightings in the Drax area.
Northallerton area -- 9 January 2008. A van driver saw a large black leopard-type cat with two smaller ones cross the road and move into forest.
Scotland
Sutherland
Bonar Bridge -- 1 January 2008, 1 p.m. A local couple observed a large black cat moving around 200 m from the window of their house. They judged it to be around 3.5 feet long plus its tail.
Wales
Clywd
Mold area -- 5 January 2008. Two men were out in woodland, when the younger saw a big black cat with white spot at the end of its tail. The cat was sitting on a track, but run into bushes immediately saw them.
Saturday, 5 January 2008
BCIB annual conference 2008
Are big cats really in the British countryside -- what is the evidence?
Dates: 7th-9th March 2008
Venue: Tropiquaria, near Watchet,Somerset.
Tickets: full weekend £25; one day only £13.50.
A great programme has been put together for what is going to be a fascinating weekend. Come along and get the inside story on big cats in Britain, see the evidence for yourself, talk to people who have seen them.
All welcome -- full details on the BCIB website.
Big Cat Roundup 17
Reports of sightings recently received by BCIB -- up to the end of December 2007.
England
Cambridgeshire
Peterborough -- around 7:30 p.m. on Christmas Day, a prison worker was cycling to work when a large black cat around 3 foot high, 6 feet long, crossed the path in front of him.
Read more at Peterboroughtoday.co.uk
Dorset
West Knighton -- late one afternoon on the day in the middle of December, a witness was walking their dog near the quarries when a large black cat crossed the track quickly in front of them. At around 18 inches high, this cat is smaller than many reported.
Leicestershire
Lutterworth area -- at 5:30 a.m. on the 24th of December, near Lutterworth, a large dark animal rushed across the A5 in front of the witness's car. The driver and passenger both agreed it was very large, very dark, and very, very fast.
Norfolk
West Winch -- around midday on the 23rd of December, a man walking his dog on the common first heard a loud screaming cry, then saw a large black animal, the size of the German Shepherd dog, in a nearby field.
Rutland
Rutland golf course -- a golfer find some prints in a sand bunker around the 13th hole. These have been judged likely to be big cat prints.
Somerset
Exmoor -- on the night of 24th of December, a witness driving towards Simonsbath saw too big cats, which he later identified as lynx, in the road in front of his car. The cats jumped over the hedge as his car approached.
Worcestershire
Dunhampton -- around 3 p.m. on the 22nd of December, a man and his two daughters were surprised by a 'wildcat' while walking in woods. They judged it to be puma coloured (fawn) but the size of a lynx.
Yorkshire
Bradford -- at 6:45 a.m. on the 19th of December, a local man was driving down the A58 towards Birkenshaw when a large black cat crossed the road from right to left and cleared of 4 foot wall.
Tunstall -- around 3:45 p.m. on the 29th of December, to witnesses in a car spotted a large catlike animal watching them from the top of the hill, about 25 yards away. It appeared to be black, but were silhouetted against the sunset.
Scotland
Angus
Dundee -- pawprints between 5 and and 6 inches across we discovered at the end of December at Camperdown golf course in the bunker on the 14th fairway.
Roxburghshire
Melrose -- at 9:40 p.m. on the 28th of December, the driver of the car observed what he judged to be a black panther in the bushes by the side of the road.
Wales
Dyfed
Ammanford -- around six o'clock one evening early in December, a witness saw a large cat of 'a pale gingery corn colour' leap across the lane in front of her car. She judged it to be bigger than a fox, smaller than a German shepherd dog and believes it to have been a cougar (puma).
CatStats at a glance
Panther type (black) -- 7
Puma type (fawn) -- 1
Lynx type (bobtail) --2
Prints -- 2
Cries -- 1
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