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.