Interesting Story..............involving Big Cat

[Ozzy Fudd]

Ain't nature wonderful when you think you have a handle on everything it gives

you a slap and says 'Yes smartarse you were just getting wayyyy too comfortable'

 

that only lasts for a moment til you remember that youve got a shotgun in your hand...

 

 

:look: :D

[pyr8]

have a look inside a laylandi,you would be hard pressed to get a bog standard moggie in there let alone anything bigger.

[ollie]

I really like hearing everyone's stories and I am really open minded to the big cat theory; but what I find hard to understand is how there hasn't been more sightings, think of how much time everyone on here spends lamping and bearing in mind they are nocturnal feeders there would surely be more sightings. Also I think if there were big cats out there would there not be a lot of lifestock going missing (i.e. sheep & cattle), these animals need a lot off meat in order to survive, can't see them surviving on our bunnies.

[Evil Elvis]

:look: there is a huge head of fallow, roe and muntjac in that area, food wise thered be no shortage. As far as the leylandi are concerned i cant really comment as i havent seen them but they can be massive.

[SSS]

I am a believer of the 'big cats in britain' jobby.

Many years ago, me and my friend saw what can only be described as the scariest thing I have ever seen.

It was a big black cat, and it was drinking out of a water trough in a field about 200 yards away from us.

We ran like hot snot back to my mates house, and I phoned my mum to fetch me in the car, my house is about 300 yards away from his.

I was only a youth, and I was too scared to walk home.

When we saw this, there was a lot of sheep carcasses being found in the next few days, and then, as if by magic, it all stopped.

 

A few years later there was a four of us out lamping, with air rifles. We had shot a few, and put them in the hedge bottom ready to pick up on the way home.

On the way back to the rabbits later that night, something ran past us on the other side of a thin hedge. We all saw it, and we were all **** scared.

At that time, the best lamp we had between us was a logun lamp, I flicked the lamp on in the direction it was running, and shouted OII!! Something looked back at us at a long way off, but it was too far to tell what it was. Our best guess at the time was 'it must be a dog' but it was about the size of a large doberman.

When we got back to where the rabbits were, they were gone, something had had a late night snack, heard us coming and ran like ****.

Very scary indeed!

Believe it or not, I know my opinion on it!

[Evil Elvis]

The thing that gets me is that there are a lot of us out there lamping and shooting and as previously stated if i saw one I wouldnt shoot it, however there are a lot of people who would.Why has one never showed up?

 

Ive been stalking and had foxes and rabbits etc walk right past me not realising im there, more often than not if im on my own, as obviously theres no-one to talk to.

 

When i was young teenager my Dad used to take to to a fish wholesalers in Horndon-on-the-hill, in there i made aquaintence with 2 mountain lions, I was a gangly 6 foot+ 10 stone wet type at the time (funny how time changes things!) My Dad and his mate thought it was funny to let one of them creep up on me and put its front paws around me....scared the living poop out of me. But i got to know them, and they were indeed big animals, probably 6' long and 15 stone? Totally tame.

 

Unfortunately for them, several neighbours had complained about the cats which wandered the local farms regularly as they were escape artists, they never did any harm but they were scary looking I can understand the neighbours trepidations.

 

To cut a long story short, the authorities ordered him to cage them and apply for a dwa licence, which he refused and he set them free.

 

Some time later when the authorities found out what hed done they got a "posse" of local shooters together and tracked them both down within days and shot them both.

 

The bit that gets me is, if there are so many cats wandering around out there why has no-one tracked one down?

 

The area surrounding Horndon is comprised of massive wooded parks and farms, the sort of place to lose a big cat in and the sort of place the sighting stories come from.

 

I understand that they didnt have long to "revert" back to thier wild state but then how do all these other cats that are out there manage to survive without detection?

 

Im on the fence, I need to see one for myself.i have seen some unexplained sheep and deer carcasses on one of my farms and some huge foot prints but have never seen an actual beast!!!

[SSS]

I can completely understand where you are coming from, if I hadnkt seen what I saw that day drinking from the trough, I would never have believed in any of it, and the thing we saw whilst lamping, I would have put down to being a dog. It is very hard to understand until you have the experince yourself

[Evil Elvis]

Im not questioning the validity of what you saw in the slightest!! I just would like to see one myself!! :look:

[SSS]

Sorry mate, I didn't mean to come across like that, I was backing up what you were saying about wanting to see it for yourself.

All the best,

Sam

[Evil Elvis]

Lol, thats not how i took it i just wanted to make sure thats not how you thought i meant it doh! Damn i need my bed! :look:

 

I take it you are working nights too?

Edited April 6, 2010 by Evil Elvis

[Wesman]

I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility that large cats are still around in the UK. We've had many large cat species before they were hunted so it's possible a few escaped. Wild cats and Lynx were quite big.

[Doc Holliday]

EE - I think your initial bloke had one of those dreams that Mungler has, the kind where you're not quite sure whether you dreamed it or it actually happened.

 

Had one or two of those myself if the truth be known.

 

Haven't seen any "big cats" but one night driving home through the lanes as I was on the phone to a mate (before it became illegal) as I swung into an adjoining road only to catch something in the headlights about 80 yards or so up the lane. It was in the headlights for just a moment and it was gone. Disappeared into the coppice woods that line the lane for a good distance each side up & down.

 

It's coat looked rough, even slightly shaggy. If I had to give it a colour then I'd say dark grey. Couldn't, or rather didn't, see the head but my thoughts are that it was either a wild boar or most likely a dog like an irish wolfhound or deer hound given the height of it at the shoulder. Wasn't too heavily set which makes me think it may have been the latter.