Panther and leopard among reported big cat sightings in Wales - BBC News
A sighting of a "panther" between Capel Bangor and Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, was reported to Dyfed Powys Police (DPP) on 30 May 2023, with the reporter saying they were driving when they saw a "large black cat" come over a hedge and land on the road in front of him. The animal then "pounced across the road" before jumping over another hedge.
It was described as "jet black, smooth/short coat, muscular, long tail, and the size of a Labrador dog"
Jet black, smooth coat, size of a labrador dog you say? I tell you what it could have been...
Jet black, smooth coat, size of a labrador dog you say? I tell you what it could have been...
Given it didn't smash its way into the car in search of crisps or biscuits, and jumped over a hedge, I'm ruling out a Labrador.
(sample size, one, but enough anecdata elsewhere to have a high confidence interval)
A bit like alien visitations, you would think the ubiquity of high resolution image recording devices in the pockets of 99% of the population would have resulted in an explosion of high quality footage.
I’m going with bigfoot, just as likely tbh
When we used to live near Stroud a few years ago, there was a local woman who used to spot a "panther" in or around Rodborough common on a regular basis. No one else locally seemed to spot it. Every couple of months or so, the Stroud News & Journal would humour her and cover it. Good copy on a quiet week I suppose.
Hundreds of claimed sightings every year and yet in an age of dash cams, CCTV, doorbell cameras and when everyone carries a high resolution still and video camera, there is no convincing imagery. Every blurry pic I've seen looks like an image of a moggie or dog, taken with a potato. None shot by farmers or gamekeepers, none hit by cars and found as roadkill, none caught in baited live capture traps.
I think it's possible there were a few kicking about for a short while in the 70s or 80s whenever the law changed about keeping big cats at a private premises and people released them. I'm skeptical that there are breeding populations or significant numbers now though, if any at all, for the reasons above.
I'd like to be proved wrong though. The thought that there were wild predators capable of eviscerating you* living in the British countryside, would certainly spice up outdoor activities!
*I'm aware the most likely species are actually very wary of humans,
Another sighting was "when the reporter saw a "leopard with spots walking around the garden when their dog was let out".
The report stated that the dog did not react and "security lights kept coming on as it was walking around"."
I am pretty ****ing sure a dog would have reacted to a leopard.
Round here some sightings were linked to a large Savannah cat. To be fair in bad light with a bad backdrop suspect could get confused at just how big it was.
I’m going with bigfoot, just as likely tbh
Well not really. Big cats exist on Earth, and we know they're traded illegally. There have been instances where various exotic animals including big-ish cats have been found dead IIRC, I think one was killed on a road.
Not trying to support the claims but unless you have properly rehearsed and practiced, it won't matter how high quality the camera on your phone is - by the time you have it in hand and able to take a picture, the thing has already gone...
There have been instances where various exotic animals including big-ish cats have been found dead IIRC, I think one was killed on a road.
Those tend to be rare and we end up with lots of sightings and then photos of it either in a cage or dead. As blokeuptheroad says its possible a few were around for a time post the dangerous animals act.
Last year we had the Cairngorm lynxes but those are a good example of what happens when you release effectively tame animals into the wild. Quickly spotted with decent photos and then caught soon afterwards.
That said I wouldnt rule out there being some other lynx living quietly after some guerrilla rewilding by someone competent (the cairngorm ones I suspect was someone getting rid of unwanted pets vs rewilding).
A bit like alien visitations, you would think the ubiquity of high resolution image recording devices in the pockets of 99% of the population would have resulted in an explosion of high quality footage.
That said I wouldnt rule out there being some other lynx living quietly after some guerrilla rewilding by someone competent
Re-wild? the guerrillas were re-livid!
Last year we had the Cairngorm lynxes but those are a good example of what happens when you release effectively tame animals into the wild. Quickly spotted with decent photos and then caught soon afterwards.
I have a default setting for people claiming big cat sightings of "they're full of ****" but those Lynx released were already used to humans and as far as I understand would not behave that way without a lifetime of captivity and would be much harder to photograph.
I’m convinced I saw a Scottish wild cat sat in the road late at night driving between Tyndrum and Loch Awe a few years ago. There’s basically no houses on that stretch so I can’t imagine it was a domestic cat and it was also noticeably bigger that a normal moggy. Unfortunately my wife was asleep in the passenger seat and refused to believe me when I woke her up to tell her…
I had an entire rugby team swear on their mother's lives they all saw a big black cat near Melton Mobray about 2006.
I'm sure they saw some thing, I doubt it was a big cat as there have been 0 kills, 0 other news reports and zero sightings.
But 13 fifteen year old students all saw it so it must have been true 😃
Have you ever seen a 'Big Cat' in the UK? Do you believe that there are big cats here?
byu/ToriaLyons inAskUK
And a bloke up the road from me keeps lions!
My short sighted ex partner excitedly pointed out a big black puma while walking on Dartmoor a few years ago.
It was a calf running down a field towards its mother...
The most unreliable evidence is an eyewitness
A shortsighted mate from Lesotho spotted meerkats on the hillside skyline locally to me here in Wales.
Thistles.
I’m convinced I saw a Scottish wild cat sat in the road late at night driving between Tyndrum and Loch Awe a few years ago. There’s basically no houses on that stretch so I can’t imagine it was a domestic cat and it was also noticeably bigger that a normal moggy. Unfortunately my wife was asleep in the passenger seat and refused to believe me when I woke her up to tell her…
At the risk of outing myself (and my mum/dad) as loonies, I admit to seeing a large cat shaped object that ran in front of my dads pickup on the single track road leading to Dalavich from Taynuilt, we lived in Dalavich at the time (mid 80’s) halfway down loch Awe and very remote.
We were a few miles from home and I remember seeing a glimpse of something large run out from the side of the forest/road and caught in the lights, it’s eyes glowed as it looked our way and then it was gone, dad slammed the brakes on and I remember the shock and outburst from my mum/dad very vividly.
Lots of reports at the time from others in the area but I never saw anything again despite spending hours/days/weekends with my mates from the village (Neil/fergus) up exploring/camping in the hills with my sheath knife and Webley Tempest .22 air pistol or my Dads Webley .22 air gun (as if that’d secure my trophy 😉) , mum saw it a few weeks later in the morning out the front of the houses at dalavich, there’s a hill/grassy bank out front leading up to old forest and she saw it making its way up the hill. We had a wee shop/post office in the village that had a map on the wall with all the sightings.
The only thing that ever drew blood from me at the time was the clouds of midges that ate us alive, I wasn’t scared of the cat.
I’m convinced I saw a Scottish wild cat sat in the road late at night driving between Tyndrum and Loch Awe a few years ago. There’s basically no houses on that stretch so I can’t imagine it was a domestic cat and it was also noticeably bigger that a normal moggy. Unfortunately my wife was asleep in the passenger seat and refused to believe me when I woke her up to tell her…
For reference, Scottish Wildcat typical weights for males range from 3.77 to 7.26kg, Moggy cats 3.6kg to 4.5kg typical healthy range, AI also suggests a range of 3 to 7kg, Maine Coon domestic cats range from 8kg to 10kg for males.
Would be awesome to see a Scottish Wildcat, I don't think I'd ever get that lucky
I remember the shock and outburst from my mum/dad very vividly.
Lots of reports at the time from others in the area
Is it possible that these things influenced each other and you? Your parents had read/heard the reports and were subconsciously primed to see what others had reported? Their reaction and the conversation afterwards influenced what you, an impressionable child thought you saw?
I don't think you're a looney. It's possible I suppose you did see a big cat, I just think that a bit of "group think" can happen in these situations and that the subconscious can influence what we think see.
Aaaages ago I was chatting to a ranger in the Chilterns (this would've been the early naughts) and he reckoned that he'd seen the evidence left by big cats attacking sheep. He made a pretty good case for them either escaping or being released by owners when they got to rowdy (The cats not the owners) or too expensive to feed.
That one in Wales; my money's still on it being a Lab
Scottish wildcat, while rare, are definitly possible to spot. Back in the late 90s, I missed out on seeing one, but one of the guys I was with actually got a photo (film camera!).
Other big cats, though, are unlikely, even an individual animal would leave sufficient evidence over its lifetime that we'd be aware of its existence in a small and densely populated island like ours.
Those tend to be rare
Yes, I'm not saying it's likely or all the sightings are true, I'm saying it's more likely than Bigfoot which don't even exist 🙂
As for high resolution cameras in everyone's pocket - yes, but they don't tend to have good quality zoom lenses. If you've ever tried to take wildlife pics you'll realise that even with semi decent kit getting a good shot of a wild animal during a chance encounter - where it's both wary of you and startled - is next to impossible. Never mind with a phone in the dark.
Big cat DNA taken from dead sheep in Wales??
DISCOVERWILDLIFE.COM
Big cat DNA also been found on hair analysis in several places..................
There have always been rumours, all over the place. Has anything ever been found? Big cats roaming the place that never take a shit?
This was filmed at my school:
Big cats roaming the place that never take a shit?
As it goes, Warwick University have this advice if you do find some poop. (Found via the BBC Discover Wildlife website just above your post).
Scat: not all of it please, a slither is fine.
That reads like some proper chunky logs have been posted to them before...
WARWICK.AC.UK
Is it possible that these things influenced each other and you? Your parents had read/heard the reports and were subconsciously primed to see what others had reported? Their reaction and the conversation afterwards influenced what you, an impressionable child thought you saw?
I don't think you're a looney. It's possible I suppose you did see a big cat, I just think that a bit of "group think" can happen in these situations and that the subconscious can influence what we think see.
In the late sixties and seventies, when space travel was still big news, there were loads and loads of UFO sightings. As people got bored with the Space Race, there were far fewer UFO sightings. They tended to peak a bit after each big movie blockbuster about space invaders.
I consider this conclusive proof that the aliens are out there and they're monitoring us. Whenever we start fiddling around with space or making movies about it, they all come to the Earth to have a look at us.
Possibly the same with big cats. Maybe they're in league with aliens.
Is it possible that these things influenced each other and you? Your parents had read/heard the reports and were subconsciously primed to see what others had reported? Their reaction and the conversation afterwards influenced what you, an impressionable child thought you saw?
I don't think you're a looney. It's possible I suppose you did see a big cat, I just think that a bit of "group think" can happen in these situations and that the subconscious can influence what we think see.
Possibly the same with big cats. Maybe they're in league with aliens.
And dolphins too. Apparently.
