I'm now 28, but
when I was 16, I saw a large black panther in the fens north of Cambridge, between
Willingham and Rampton. I was on the back of a 50cc motorbike and we passed
it as it was standing on the grass verge of the road. It was looking at us. At
first I thought it was a big black dog, but then realised, as we got closer that
it was feline, and had a big head like a panther. As we were only doing
30 mph, I started to worry that it may catch up with us and pull me off the back
of the motorbike. I kept looking behind me. I had heard several stories
about the 'Fenland Tiger' and couldn't believe it when I saw it. Three other people
I know have seen it. Also when I was 22, I was working on the Channel Tunnel
rail link, which involved marking out the future rail track in the middle of the
Kent countryside. There were wild goats there that started disappearing.
I found the chewed remains of two of the goats and heard that a security guard
patroling the site had seen a black panther in front of his jeep in the middle
of the night. He put a spot light on it and it just stood there looking
at him. There are definately big cats out there in the UK countryside. Martin
Pickering, Cambridge We had just started walking in the field with my
dad and dog in the field on the friday just gone when I turned and saw a black
object in the row of trees by the stream. Me and my dad both agreed it
was moving and that it was much bigger than a normal cat. So Ii walked
over and it sat there and watched me, but it walked off into the trees when I
got closer. And by the time I had got there and looked, there was no sign of it.
But it walked just the same as a cat, but it was much much bigger and pure
black. Aimee Hockliffe I live in Long Stratton, andwhile working
for Social Services, approx two and a half years ago, I was coming back into LONG
STRATTON form HEMPNAL along CHURCH ROAD, STRATTON ST MICHAEL, just passed the
thatched cottage. & I looked across the field & I saw a big black
animal running the opposite way (away from the A140). At first I thought
of these "big cats", but told myself not to be so stupid as no one would
believe me, but I have since heard of other people seeing it in this area also. Dianne Mead
Last winter me and my mum saw a black cat the size
of a labrador cross the road in front of us and disappear into the hedge. We
were driving along in the evening near Triangular Lodge which is near the village
of Rushton in Northamptonshire. Matthew Bates (age 10 years) One
night between April - June 2004, I was walking my Jack Russell dog that night,
and after walking through a park, I've nipped into All Saint's church ground in
Leighton Buzzard, Beds. Just viewing the building at night when I saw a
large grey or maybe very light brown animal - it jumped down from a wall and it
stood still staring at me for a couple of minute and then calmly walked away into
other direction and into the darkness. I can described it looks just like
a Puma or a Mountain Lion. I have flagged down a passing Police Car and
told them what was happening and their response was 'I'll have a look later!',
then drove off. They must be thinking I have escaped from the mental hospital!
I have fair knowledge about animals and I know I'm not confusing it with
any kind of domestic animals or any documented wild animals in this country of
UK. Tim Powderly Yep they are definitely out there! I
regularly visit the countryside around the Luton/South Beds/North Herts area.
One evening two friends and I were out taking in a beautiful high summer evening
walk around sunset on the last day of June this year. We parked up on the
north of the Tithe Farm estate in Houghton Regis and proceeded north towards Howes
Down. We eventually reached the old Salt Way which is now a green lane
and headed towards the Bounds way after as the sun had now set - we headed back
towards the car.
About one field past Grove Farm in an area that was previously
farmed, but for the last couple of years has been left to its own devises and
in long grass, one of my friends pointed to a point about 100 yards to the west
of where we were standing.
My God! what the hell is that! I uttered. In
the fading light we could easily make out the distinct shape of a very large dark
cat.
It was clearly much larger than the largest domestic moggy, for a
moment it stared at us.
Then it bounded away at high speed over the long
grass towards a distant hedgerow. I had my camara in my bag, but by the
time I got to it and turned it on, it had vanished into the hedgerow, in any case
it was probably too dark by this time.
All three of us were convinced
that what we saw was genuinely out of the ordinary!
With the increase in
the rabbit population and the leaving of areas of fields to return to nature,
it doesn't suprise me that these Large Cats (Pumas, Leopards, whatever!) can exist
quite comfortably in our countryside today! I think in the main, they avoid
people! S. Teague I have just watched your program on bigcats
and would like to let you know about a sighting I had from early summer.
The sighting was at approximately midday on Sunday 25th June 2006 in my
village of Ravensden which is in North Bedfordshire.
The road was a single
carriageway road with large amounts of field area either side.
One field
is occupied by cattle, the other is open fields with little farming. I was on
my way to work on my motorbike when it crossed my path on the road. At
best, I was no further than 12 feet away, but the sound of my engine made it turn
and run back the way it came before I could get a really good look. What
I did see, was the following: A cat about the size of a small Labrador.
Small, pointy ears. Similar colourings to the lynx on your website. Black,
blended stripe markings, and not spots.
From this description you
may already be thinking that all I saw was a cat, but it was just too big to be
that. Is it possible that I聮ve seen a lynx?? Dan Matcham About
three years ago I was travelling home to Clacton on Sea from Ipswich at around
23.30 with my two teenage sons. I was driving along a country lane between Tendring
and Weeley.
As we were going up a small hill, a dark shape appeared in
the right side of my headlights and as we got closer both my son and myself saw
this pair of eyes looking down into the car window. I kept driving, but
we all looked at each other and said, "That was some big cat".
We
never told anyone, but there has been several reports in the local press reporting
sightings of a big black cat in the Clacton area. P Wolton.
My
bedroom window looks out on to a small park (St. Clements) in Norwich, Norfolk.
On the morning of 2nd January, 2006 at about 11 am, I looked out of my
window and saw a large black cat about 30 yds away on the other side of our garden
fence.
As I watched, it looked up and started to lope across the park
and into some bushes on the far side.
I was able to look at it through
binoculars which I keep on my windowsill because I have often watched foxes in
the park before.
I am absolutely certain that I saw a black panther that
morning. I was close enough to see it in good detail, the shape of its head, its
body in profile, the curl of its tail and its loping gait couldn't be anything
but a wild cat.
I reported my sighting to the Police and was told that
there had been other sightings reported, but not that morning and not in that
location before. The park is surrounded by houses and I was concerned that
the animal might attack a child or pet if the panther had jumped the fence into
one of the gardens. Sandra Booth My name is Jennifer Wolff and
on Saturday 16th September just gone, I was cycling along a footpath at Orton
Mere heading towards the City Centre at approximately 8.15/20am in the morning
when ahead of me about 50 yards, I saw what I can only describe was a black panther
on the footpath looking into the bushes. I stopped my bike and observed
it for a couple of seconds but when it noticed me it leapt with height into the
undergrowth.
The BIG cat that I saw looked as follows:
3-4ft
in Length 2-3ft in Height 2ft approx length of tail Completely black
shiny smooth fur
When it had disappeared into the undergrowth, I cycled
at speed past it and glanced as I went by to see its eyes looking at me.
They were large and yellow looking at me. I didn't stop my bike again until I
was a safe distance past it.
It appeared on the footpath again after I
was a safe distance away. Turned and looked at me again. But I continued on my
journey to work.
That evening I rang Peterborough Police Station and reported
what I had seen because this footpath is used by families cycling, walking and
people exercising their dogs.
On Sunday 17th (yesterday) I used the footpath
again to go to work, but yesterday I went past the spot where I saw the big cat
around 9am. Although I never saw it yesterday I did hear a growling coming
from the bushes but didn't stop to find out where it was coming from. Jennifer
Wolff I live at Ellington near Huntingdon and saw a big cat in full
daylight approximately 25 -30 metres away on short grass.
I watched the
cat for 3-4 minutes as it stalked something in longer grass; this is the second
sighting as I briefly saw it before approximately 100 metres from the second
sighting.
My last sighting was in June 2006 and I reported it to Cambridgeshire
Wildlife Trust, they thought that from my description that it probably was a Puma. John
My
views on the big cat sightings - I find it very hard to believe that cats in this
day and age can escape being caught on camera, as if it's possible on the plains
of Africa, surely it's possible in the uk. gaza We
found this paw print on our stable door in Brackenfield, Derbyshire.
Some
in village say they have seen large animals that look like big cats. Anon I've
been following a Melanistic Leopard since I first saw it in Jan 03. It now resides
in a forest where I spend some night times with my infrared gear to get evidence.
I was the East Anglian rep. for one of the big cat clubs until I fell out
with the chairman. But I still have people calling me to go out to look at pug
marks or show me where they've seen it. David Galvan, Wickham Markt, Suffolk
After
watching your program on monday night concerning the big cat sightings, I would
like to report a sighting of my own.
I live in Wendling, a small rural
village near East Dereham, Norfolk, and last year my dad called us outside - and
from our back garden we look out on an open field.
About a 1/4 of a mile
away, walking along a small stream in the field, we saw a large black animal,
walking on 4 legs, with a large head and tail. We continued to watch it walk until
we could see it no more. We then kept an eye out for it but did not see it again,
so we considered it to be our imagination.
However early in August ths
year on a sunny afternoon, I was looking out of my bedroom window across the field
and further back I could see the same black figure. I then got my binoculars out
of my cuboard and ran outside to get a better view. It was a dark black cat, smaller
then the size of a Red Deer but a lot bigger then a domestic cat-i continued to
watch it until it went into the shade of a tree where it layed down on its side,
unfortunatly the photo i got of it with my digital camera was poor as the resolution
is not good enough to pick it out.
However i have not seen it since then,
and I was wondering if it has hunting patterns so that we would only see it at
certain cycles? Mitchell Catling
|