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Big Cats in the British Isles

Myth?  Vivid imagination?  Or fact?  There have been big cat sightings in the British Isles for almost a hundred years.
PictureThe photograph on the right, taken in the British Isles, clearly shows the profile of a Big Cat.  It is clearly not the profile of a fox, a domestic dog or a domestic cat.  This particular profile lends itself well to the Black Leopard.  There are several species of these non-indigenous cats living and breeding in the British Isles.  The three largest members of this group are, BLACK LEOPARD, PUMA and LYNX. 

PictureThe picture to the right was taken by a photographer from the Angling Times.  It shows a cement cast taken by myself about four years ago near a Northamton fishing venue.  I came across many prints, this being the clearest.  The cat appeared to have slipped slightly on the soft wet mud as it put its pad down.  The area in which I found this print is frequented by a large male Puma and twoBlack Leopards.  Photo:courtesy Angling Times

PictureOn left is a sheep kill.  This was a 250lb prize ram.  I took this picture a few weeks after casting the paw print.  There was a five mile distance between the two locations.  The sheep was unmarked, other than a 10cm long deep knife like slash mark behind the head, which ran down over the shoulder.  The sheep had not been fed upon.  The farmer on whos land this happened saw a large Puma one night when he was trying to see what was killing his sheep.  He lost about a dozen sheep over a year and has absolutely no doubts as to what he saw that night.

The cats now present in the British Isles are by now, second, third and possibly even fourth generation offspring from the first illegally released specimens. The first big cats to be seen in the open countryside of the British Isles were probably escapees from our Colonial forefathers who brought back thier exotic souveniers from the far flung corners of the Empire.  There have been numerous escapees from zoos and circuses over the years.   The majority of the original cats stock released into  the British countryside came about when the Dangerous Wild Animals Act came into being in 1976.

The smaller species include the OCELOT and the JUNGLE CAT which are very rarely seen due to their size.  The most commonly sighted is the Black Leopard, although the Puma is being observed a growing number of times.  The reports of Lynx sightings remain low.  Due to the very solitary and secretive  nature of all these cats,  sightings are irregular.  Most sightings take place during the months of August, September and October, as this is when harvesting takes place and the majority of the essential cover these animals rely on is quite suddenly removed.  Both the Puma and the Black Leopard are slightly larger that a labrador dog,  so they can easily move undetected through modern wheat crops and along hedge rows.  The cats colouring blends them into the British countryside as well as it does in their natural habitats.The main diet of these big cats are rabbits,  which are plentyfull in most parts of the British Isles.  In areas where rabbits are not so plentifull sheep and or deer may well be taken .   There is mounting evidence of this amongst sheep farmers, some of whom are losing many tens of sheep a year.  On inspecting fresh carcasses, Danny Nineham, the foremost expert on these cats in the UK,  has seen  crushed vertibrae and deep puncture wounds around the base of the skull and neck that only a large cat could inflict.  I have witnessed fresh kills in my own area of sheep and deer.  The same kill method was used.  There is no indigenous species in this country capable of inflicting such wounds.  In areas where rabbits are to be found in abundance, sheep are probably killed there because they just walk up to the cat in the dark not knowing what it is.   The cat attacks in self defence against an animal that won’t move out of the way and outwardly shows no fear.
PictureDuring the late summer of 2000, a young boy called Josh was attacked by what he describes as a large black cat.   The claw marks on his face bear testimony to the attack, and show clearly , by the spread of the scratches that the animal was of considerable size.   (For further attacks on people see separate page (Attacks)).  Fortunately,  Josh lived to tell the story.   A serious attack on a person or people or even a fatality, is now just a question of time. 
 The numbers of  these  big cats in the UK is running into many hundreds and they have FULLY evolved to living and surviving in the British countryside   The highly successfull breeding of these cats in the British Isles is due to two reasons.  Firstly there is a great abundance of food.  Secondly, and perhaps more importantly is the fact that there are no species to compete with them.    The breeding becomes regular, with the off spring finding , without difficulty, a territory of thier own with adequate prey to support them.  Add to this the fact that the British countryside is well vegetated, offering plenty of cover, and you have the perfect environment for these animals success.  Man is only just begining to accept the fact that these cats are a reality in the British Isles.   Will it though, take a human fatality before the authorities wake up and accept the fact?