toys19 - Member
rob, I'm open minded about it, but there has been as much proof for a big cat as there has been for the loch ness monster
slainte 
rob
Dangerous Animals act (or something like that) in the 70s prohibited the private ownership of large cats etc. Many were released into the wild rather than be shot. Plenty of 'em about I reckon and pretty sure I've seen one run about 30 foot in front of me whilst out at dusk on my tod. Well, it wasn't a dog or a deer or a wallaby or a gruffalo, it was very quick and very quiet and a had long tail.
During one night ride myself and my mates head torches picked out some eyes belonging to something large that decided to start moving towards us through the woods. We didn't stop to find out. Oh, and then there are the claw marks...
Strangely enough being the person who saw it I'm not 100% convinced. I'd only be that if I'd seen the whole animal. Covering up the head / shoulder of the animal in colournoise's picture gives a fair approximation of what I saw. Although I was looking broadside.
There was a big change in the law in the mid 1970's where the requirements for keeping big cats became more onerous. You could buy them at Harrods! It wouldn't be improbable that some got dumped but that was over 25 years ago.
I could see big cats avoiding detection. Foxes going to be more common but you don't see too many of them when just out for a ride, same goes for badgers and otters.
+1 dans160
I'd bet on the likelihood of the sightings being large cats being released into the wild. Always have been amazed that an individual would want a large, carnivorous cat as a pet. We have, over the years, had a similar problem with people wanting wolf hi-breds (7/8 wolf, 1/8 dog) and then finding out they have a very large (150+ lb) agressive animal to deal with.
Is this the latest effort to try and make Sherwood Pines a worthwhile ride? Simply by adding big cats?
I totally believe you though OP. Fairly sure I've seen a black one myself a few years back, and a mate's brother swears blind he saw one in the car headlights with a fox in its mouth!
oldagepredator--here is a link to a really good side profile
http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/wildlife-sightings/mountain-lions/description-and-signs
Nah, this was the forest not the pines.
Was just on the way back from my first trip out on the mountain bike in a couple of months. Had been exploring some of the tracks and trails outside of the National Nature Reserve / SSSI bit.
More like trying to make Clumber Park more exciting.
busydog - definately wasnt 7 to 8 ft long. So if it was a big cat then its not fully grown.
maybe you have a whole bunch, unseen and breeding :wink:in the woods---might cut down trail congestion a bit if word was "leaked"
13thFloorMonk's video was shot in my home town. Was pretty big news locally at the time in a "seriously?" kind of way.
I can't believe anyone can look at that and not just see it as a domestic cat.
a bit big don't you think stevomcd?
+1 stevomcd
If you look at the size of the cat vs the size of the rails and crossties, I'd vote for large, domestic cat. Big cats I have seen (admittedly only 2 cougar in the wild) walk with a much more deliberate, intense movement and very seldom in the wide-open like that--ane they keep their tails down low.
TJ - nope.
I'm with busydog, if it turned and walked across the track, it would comfortably fit in the space between the rails twice over. That space is (approximattely) 4 feet wide.
There have been reports of big cats round here (northamptonshire). Never come across one and I completely forgot about it til this thread!
Googling shows that a lot of them are spotted along Brampton Valley Way - I ride this occasionally as it's really close by, and now am a bit tempted to give it a ride tomorrow out of curiosity 
"post a picture of your bike next to a wild cat" 
do a search - someone posted a pic of a big cat somewhere ( not sure if sherwood) 6 months - 1 yr ago
[quote]"post a picture of your bike next to a wild cat
Now that will certainly cut down on trail traffic and the poster of same will be legend (or lunch).
Sorry for the screw-up on "quote"---must be the second Jack Daniels at fault
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