discobob Posted April 21, 2017 Report Share Posted April 21, 2017 I was away for Easter weekend with the family near New Quay on the west coast of Wales. I went out on the Saturday evening (still light) to get some wood from the local garage for the burner - and then went down to a small town on the sea. On the way back up to the coast road I came round a bend and stopped the car pdq. There was something heading up the banking into the hedgerow on top. It was about 2.5' tall - I didn't see the head as that was already in the hedgerow but its feet was still on the tarmac. It wasn't a putty cat and I'm not tweetie pie - but I saw something. I asked the people who owned the small holding we were staying at about cat sightings in the area - they had seen one themselves and knew of others who had as well. Before this I took the stories with a pinch of salt - but not now This was 6 days ago at the time of this posting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeadWasp Posted April 21, 2017 Report Share Posted April 21, 2017 (edited) Glad to help - if you ever go back to visit your old haunts the Barley Mow in Tilford is good for a pint! It really hasn't changed much, although I haven't seen a balloon up for a while. The army are far tidier these days no doubt much to the annoyance of small boys - no piles of spent link lying about any more................. Three years ago i got a call from a farmer who was losing lambs at an average of two a night and i watched the culprit 150y away for about 45 minutes and it was a labrador size cat with the reddest eyes i have ever seen under the lamp. It was seen in daylight a few days later. Flanders Moss, Stirling. The red eyes prodded my memory. I was having a chat with another neighbour last year mainly about muntjac moving in and old sightings of boar. Anyway he suddenly came out with a remark about possibly meeting a big cat. There's a lane on our boundary that runs down to his barn. I've got a big old apple tree on this boundary - which has never been pruned for picking - that is pretty tall. Certainly NOT an orchard tree. Anyway he said he'd been walking down the lane at night with one of his guys about 10 years ago and something had shot up this tree. He said the most ferocious growling came from high up in it, and when they shone a light up it a pair of bright red eyes stared back. They were pretty spooked and actually retreated. There we go - it's now the witching hour so sleep well every one......................... "It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking In the dark Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops Your heart You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before You make it....." Edited April 21, 2017 by LeadWasp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 Message from the old pro; If its not a problem don't make it one. No bolt actions you would never get chance to reload. Double rifle with independent trigger mechanisms so it the first fails you have a reliable second instantly, minimum a 416. Heavy slugs at low velocity. Quick prayer to your own god a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishop Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 Amuses me of course that there are many people that cannot accept what hundreds tell them they have seen quite clearly in front of them ,fair enough thats checks and balances in action.But many of those same doubters believe deceased members of their families are waiting for them in some afterlife watched over by some mystical all powerful deity.Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 The red eyes prodded my memory. I was having a chat with another neighbour last year mainly about muntjac moving in and old sightings of boar. Anyway he suddenly came out with a remark about possibly meeting a big cat. There's a lane on our boundary that runs down to his barn. I've got a big old apple tree on this boundary - which has never been pruned for picking - that is pretty tall. Certainly NOT an orchard tree. Anyway he said he'd been walking down the lane at night with one of his guys about 10 years ago and something had shot up this tree. He said the most ferocious growling came from high up in it, and when they shone a light up it a pair of bright red eyes stared back. They were pretty spooked and actually retreated. If someone told me this I would react by adopting my least confrontational tone and instead in the most overtly Blackadder way say : Yes of course, because when you shine a light up at a big cat 20 foot up a tree, the ONLY thing you see are its big red eyes and none of the rest of it, g r e a t . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 I spent many hours on Hankley common picking up spent shells and clips, smoke grenades and the like. Nearly got away with an SA80 once. Never saw a big cat but my eyes were firmly on the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achosenman Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 Amuses me of course that there are many people that cannot accept what hundreds tell them they have seen quite clearly in front of them ,fair enough thats checks and balances in action.But many of those same doubters believe deceased members of their families are waiting for them in some afterlife watched over by some mystical all powerful deity.Go figure. Well one is faith, the other isn't, despite cats being worshiped in some societies. FWIW I certainly don't believe in sky daddies, gods or any other mythical creatures...unless you can provide incontrovertible proof. There are many people who are afraid of the dark, the bogey man, goblins, fairies and bad spirits. The number runs into many millions Worldwide I'd guess. Considering the above, I think I'm on safe ground by stating that the numbers of people repeating a story, legend or myth, have no bearing on its veracity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishop Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth"..A rational person has to agree people have been and are still witnessing large feline animals moving freely through our countryside, whether thats outside your comfort box or not.Chosen chappie must be able to tell me exactly what i and many others did see as my eyes clearly misled me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 Well I am not really going to be in a good position am I if I lamp a big cat. I am colour blind and couldn't tell you red from Green Aaaahhh !!!!! knickers I'll just shoot it anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeadWasp Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 (edited) If someone told me this I would react by adopting my least confrontational tone and instead in the most overtly Blackadder way say : Yes of course, because when you shine a light up at a big cat 20 foot up a tree, the ONLY thing you see are its big red eyes and none of the rest of it, g r e a t . unless of course it's facing away from you, in which case there's only one eye and it's a very different colour sorry - I couldn't resist the temptation.................... Edited April 22, 2017 by LeadWasp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brixsmaid Posted April 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 As I started this thread, I didn't want to start the variance of debates it has started, all I wanted was an idea why a body ( for whatever reason) has never been found be it road kill or whateverI can believe they did/do exist especially back when many were turned out into the country side, why not one body, can't have all be magic'd away by the Ministry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norfolk dumpling Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 35-40yrs ago a local keeper shot a lynx and after several years talking to the Minister for Ag and Fish no agreement was reached as to what should happen to an animal which shouldn't be here so he buried it. Probably a zoo escapee but nobody would own up. In 50yrs of shooting and buying far to many magazines this is the only credible big cat tale I've encountered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 35-40yrs ago a local keeper shot a lynx and after several years talking to the Minister for Ag and Fish no agreement was reached as to what should happen to an animal which shouldn't be here so he buried it. Probably a zoo escapee but nobody would own up. In 50yrs of shooting and buying far to many magazines this is the only credible big cat tale I've encountered. Did you actually see the dead Lynx? If not it seems contrary that you choose to believe this and not any other eye witness accounts? If you did witness the dead Lynx, would it not be reasonable to conclude it was probably not the only big cat abroad in the country? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth"..A rational person has to agree people have been and are still witnessing large feline animals moving freely through our countryside, whether thats outside your comfort box or not.Chosen chappie must be able to tell me exactly what i and many others did see as my eyes clearly misled me We haven't established that it is impossible, even the pessimists among us agree there must at some point previously (and no doubt in future) have been the odd escapee which either got run over, shot or caught fairly quickly but this idea that there are mythical big cats living and thriving in the wild but which are only ever spotted in the dying hours or in complete darkness or so far away that their size becomes one of absolute guesswork is simple fairy tale. They all also manage to evade pigeon shooters, cameras, trains, planes and automobiles ! They never ever leave signs of their lairs, never have their young wander off and get spotted and manage to kill and eat a minimum of two lambs a day without the farmers noticing. So you see what is left is not improbable but mere babble. It is the job of the rational person who has spotted these LARGE yet impossible to see or photograph big cats to convince us that he did in fact see them, not for us to explain to him what he thinks he saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishop Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 feeble statements hamster very feeble.People who state they saw a large cat are not lacking in brain cells,they firmly believe,after watching what was in front of their eyes , that the animal was nothing other than a large cat.If it moves like a large cat looks like a large cat then hamster here thinks we should call it a banana so he can stay in his comfort box.Ok lets do that.Anything for a happy hamster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 That's me well and truly (scientifically) told. No actual EVIDENCE and you call my argument feeble ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 Well around 20 years ago I shot a leopard that was taking farm stock on the farm I work on, it was definetly a leopard I think my mum still has the photos I used my trust 375 H&H that I carry with me, quite a few of the neighbors had issues and shot the cats etc that coursed issues. But then that was Southern Africa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 I have an open mind about this cat thing. On different hands there are so many people who aren't idiots and have not been out telling people or the local rag to gain some sort of notariaty that they have seen one. So many people who have been out night shooting a lot and have never seen one. The fact that if I were to go out in the car tonight, I would have a high chance of seeing rabbits,fox, badger, deer, and maybe a wild boar but I have never seen anything that I could maybe say perhaps that was a wild cat. But back in about 1989/90 in late August I went down onto the marsh to see if there were any duck starting to flight down onto the river and the dykes. It was about dusk when suddenly there was a noise that was very loud with a very viscious powerful noise of a screaming roar. It had the power and viscious intensity to put the hair up on my arms. I could pinpoint the area because there was a deepish ravine in the middle of two large fields. This was about quarter of a mile away from where I was. Now although I was with a car I didn't think about a threat or of being in any sort of danger. I drove back up the track past the ravine and stopped, got out and looked down in there but it was fairly dark by this time and I didn't see anything or out on the field the other side. This was back when no one thought about big cats in the wild and night vision gear wasn't available to the masses. I was so interested in what might be there that I drove the four miles back home to get my lantern torch and go back to where this was and have a look round. Now this is when no one went out night shooting or lamping that I knew of. It just didn't exist. Anyway I didn't see anything. In retrospect I didn't know what I was looking for and if I did, I don't know what I would have done anyway. A few weeks later a friend who shot the same ground told me that he had seen something that looked like a big big black cat out on a field going along a hedgerow. So they may be out there. So how come they don't get hit by cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prospero Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 We've all seen the usual road kill, fox, badger, deer, pheasants etc. Anyone ever seen a mink dead on the road? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red-dot Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 Big predators dont get big and strong by being dumb unlike the nay-sayers that have to see one on their lap to even consider they exist.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 I like that Prospero, I once made my dad stop near Warrington a long time ago picked up a dead pine martin took it home and buried it but I never seen a dead mink what about otters? I recorded a program off BBC 4 couple of weeks ago leopards 21st century cats started watching it but turned it off as it wasn't really kid friendly but very interesting showing things I've never seen before very worth a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washerboy Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 Seen mink dead on the local roads and several otters while driving in the Scottish Borders . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 (edited) We've all seen the usual road kill, fox, badger, deer, pheasants etc. Anyone ever seen a mink dead on the road? Yes! Over the years I've seen roadkill Mink, Otter and Polecat....oh! And a Hen Harrier!! Edited April 23, 2017 by panoma1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 (edited) We've all seen the usual road kill, fox, badger, deer, pheasants etc. Anyone ever seen a mink dead on the road? No but funnily enough in Norfolk last week I saw what I reckon was a mink, so quick I only saw it for a second and it was gone. I was with six other people but no one else saw it. Part of the reason is, I believe, our eyes are accustomed to searching for and picking up small movements. I am always the first to spot rabbits, foxes and deer in the corner of fields along the tree line when we are out and point them out to the others. Edited April 23, 2017 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red-dot Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 Some city boys on here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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