British big cats
Encyclopedia
British big cats, also referred to as ABCs (Alien, or Anomalous, Big Cats), phantom cat
s and mystery cats, are Felidae
which are not native to Britain
which are reported to inhabit the British countryside. These sightings are often reported as "panthers", "pumas", or "black cats". Their existence is unproven, but many suggestions exist to explain how these animals might have come to inhabit Britain, including that they are animals released after the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976
came into force, or that they are surviving Ice Age
fauna.
recalled in his Rural Rides how, as a boy, he had seen a cat "as big as a middle-sized Spaniel
dog" climb into a hollow elm tree in the grounds of the ruined Waverley Abbey
near Farnham
in Surrey
. Later, in New Brunswick
, he saw a "lucifee" (North American lynx
– Felis lynx canadensis) "and it seemed to me to be just such a cat as I had seen at Waverley." Another old report was found by David Walker from The Times
in 1827 of a "lynx" being seen.
Further back there is a medieval Welsh poem Pa Gwr in the Black Book of Carmarthen
which mentions a Cath Palug
, meaning "Palug's cat" or "clawing cat", which roamed Anglesey
until slain by Cei
. In the Welsh Triads
, it was the offspring of the monstrous sow Henwen.
was shot in summer 1991 near Norwich
, Norfolk
. It had killed around 15 sheep within two weeks. The story was only reported in 2003, and the lynx is apparently now in the possession (as taxidermy) of a collector in Suffolk
. For many years this incident was considered to have been a hoax, particularly by the hunting community, But in March 2006 a police report confirmed that the case was true. It was probably an escapee from a facility in the area that bred animals, including Eurasian lynxes. Another lynx and a puma have been captured alive.
, Aberdeenshire
. Footage of the cat was broadcast by the BBC on the 24th May 2007.
In July 2009, photographs and video footage of a large black cat were taken by an off-duty Ministry of Defence Police
officer. The animal was walking along a railway line in Helensburgh
, Argyll
. Large cats, either black or tan, have been reported in the area before.
Species that have been noted only occasionally include the Leopard Cat
, which is the size of a domestic cat but has leopard-like spots, the Clouded Leopard
, a specialised species from the tropics which was captured after living wild in Kent in 1975, and there are even extraordinary cases of lion
s being reported in Devon and Somerset.
and Fen Tiger. In 1963 the Shooters Hill "cheetah" was reported from that area of London
. and in 1964 came similar reports from Norfolk. From the 1970s reports spread across the country; the Beast of Exmoor
was reported from Devon
and Somerset
and the Sheppey
Panther has been rumoured to exist since that decade. In 1980 came the first modern report from Scotland
, and the Kellas Cat
was shot there in 1984.
Greater interest in phantom cats grew from headline stories of the Beast of Bodmin
from 1992, and Dumfries and Galloway
(the Galloway Puma
). There were many more news stories from different parts of the country.
to carry out a massive search for the rumoured Beast of Exmoor after an increase in the number of mysteriously killed livestock, and farmer complaints over subsequent loss of money. Several Marines claimed to have seen the cat fleetingly, but nothing other than a fox was ever found. The Ministry concluded that reports of the Beast were nothing more than mass hysteria. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
has published a list of predatory cats that they know to have escaped in the United Kingdom, although most of these have been recaptured.
has persisted in Britain — a supposed mythical creature appearing as a large black animal in remote moorland with no firm evidence beyond hearsay for its existence. Such stories inspired the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles
. It has been suggested that the stories of "Black Cats" are merely a modern continuation of such myths and stories, sharing the same elements but with the idea of a supernatural cause having fallen out of credibility (possibly due to the influence of the aforementioned novel) and the modern, more plausible, idea of an escaped or released wildcat supplanting it. In addition, the stories of big cats share many traits suitable for the tabloid press — as such leading to wide exposure of any potential "cat" and further and rapid dissemination of any speculation or supposed evidence for it, helping to build a widespread urban myth.
Phantom cat
Phantom cats, also known as Alien Big Cats , are large felines, such as jaguars or cougars, which have been purported to appear in regions outside their indigenous range...
s and mystery cats, are Felidae
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
which are not native to Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
which are reported to inhabit the British countryside. These sightings are often reported as "panthers", "pumas", or "black cats". Their existence is unproven, but many suggestions exist to explain how these animals might have come to inhabit Britain, including that they are animals released after the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976
Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976
The Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976 is a law of the United Kingdom that was originally enacted to deal with the increasing fashion in the late 1960s and early 1970s of people keeping interesting pets which were often from the more dangerous species, as well as hybrids between wild and domestic...
came into force, or that they are surviving Ice Age
Quaternary glaciation
Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, the current ice age or simply the ice age, refers to the period of the last few million years in which permanent ice sheets were established in Antarctica and perhaps Greenland, and fluctuating ice sheets have occurred elsewhere...
fauna.
First sightings
In the 1760s the great radical writer, William CobbettWilliam Cobbett
William Cobbett was an English pamphleteer, farmer and journalist, who was born in Farnham, Surrey. He believed that reforming Parliament and abolishing the rotten boroughs would help to end the poverty of farm labourers, and he attacked the borough-mongers, sinecurists and "tax-eaters" relentlessly...
recalled in his Rural Rides how, as a boy, he had seen a cat "as big as a middle-sized Spaniel
Spaniel
A spaniel is a type of gun dog. It is assumed spaniels originated from Spain as the word spaniel may be derived from Hispania or possibly from the French phrase "Chiens de l’Espagnol" . Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of dense brush. By the late 17th century spaniels had become...
dog" climb into a hollow elm tree in the grounds of the ruined Waverley Abbey
Waverley Abbey
Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England, founded in 1128 by William Giffard, Bishop of Winchester. It is situated about one mile south of Farnham, Surrey, in a bend of the River Wey.-History:...
near Farnham
Farnham
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. Later, in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, he saw a "lucifee" (North American lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
– Felis lynx canadensis) "and it seemed to me to be just such a cat as I had seen at Waverley." Another old report was found by David Walker from The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in 1827 of a "lynx" being seen.
Further back there is a medieval Welsh poem Pa Gwr in the Black Book of Carmarthen
Black Book of Carmarthen
The Black Book of Carmarthen is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written entirely or substantially in Welsh. Written in around 1250, the book's name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen, and is referred to as black due to...
which mentions a Cath Palug
Cath Palug
Cath Palug, also Cath Paluc, Cath Balug, Cath Balwg, Chapalu, Capalu, or Capalus, literally "Palug's cat", or maybe from the Welsh 'palug,' meaning 'clawing,' was a monstrous cat in French and Welsh legend. It was said to haunt the Isle of Anglesey, and to have killed and eaten nine score warriors...
, meaning "Palug's cat" or "clawing cat", which roamed Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
until slain by Cei
Sir Kay
In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay is Sir Ector's son and King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature he is known for his acid tongue and bullying, boorish behavior, but in earlier accounts he was one of Arthur's premier...
. In the Welsh Triads
Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness...
, it was the offspring of the monstrous sow Henwen.
Captures and remains
A Eurasian lynxLynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
was shot in summer 1991 near Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. It had killed around 15 sheep within two weeks. The story was only reported in 2003, and the lynx is apparently now in the possession (as taxidermy) of a collector in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. For many years this incident was considered to have been a hoax, particularly by the hunting community, But in March 2006 a police report confirmed that the case was true. It was probably an escapee from a facility in the area that bred animals, including Eurasian lynxes. Another lynx and a puma have been captured alive.
Video and photographic evidence
In June 2006 a large black cat was recorded in the countryside of BanffBanff, Aberdeenshire
Banff is a town in the Banff and Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Banff is situated on Banff Bay and faces the town of Macduff across the estuary of the River Deveron...
, Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
. Footage of the cat was broadcast by the BBC on the 24th May 2007.
In July 2009, photographs and video footage of a large black cat were taken by an off-duty Ministry of Defence Police
Ministry of Defence Police
The Ministry of Defence Police is a civilian police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The force is part of the larger government agency, the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency , together with the Ministry of Defence Guard Service...
officer. The animal was walking along a railway line in Helensburgh
Helensburgh
Helensburgh is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde and the eastern shore of the entrance to the Gareloch....
, Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
. Large cats, either black or tan, have been reported in the area before.
Sightings
The research group Big Cats in Britain publishes reported sightings annually by county. The "top ten" counties or regions of Great Britain between April 2004 and July 2005 were:| Area | Devon Devon Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with... |
Yorks | Scotland Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the... |
Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²... |
Gloucs Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean.... |
Sussex Sussex Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West... |
Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of... |
Kent Kent Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of... |
Somerset Somerset The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the... |
Leics |
| Number of Sightings | 132 | 127 | 125 | 123 | 104 | 103 | 99 | 92 | 91 | 89 |
Species that have been noted only occasionally include the Leopard Cat
Leopard Cat
The leopard cat is a small wild cat of South and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern by IUCN as it is widely distributed but threatened by habitat loss and hunting in parts of its range...
, which is the size of a domestic cat but has leopard-like spots, the Clouded Leopard
Clouded Leopard
The clouded leopard is a felid found from the Himalayan foothills through mainland Southeast Asia into China, and has been classified as vulnerable in 2008 by IUCN...
, a specialised species from the tropics which was captured after living wild in Kent in 1975, and there are even extraordinary cases of lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s being reported in Devon and Somerset.
Reported British big cat sightings
Current interest in Big cat reports appear to stem from the late 1950s, with news stories of the Surrey PumaSurrey Puma
The Surrey Puma was one or more phantom cats, supposedly black pumas, seen around south western Surrey from the 1960s onwards.The first possible sightings were recorded in 1959, when police received a number of reports of big cats in the Farnham area, near the Surrey/Hampshire border...
and Fen Tiger. In 1963 the Shooters Hill "cheetah" was reported from that area of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. and in 1964 came similar reports from Norfolk. From the 1970s reports spread across the country; the Beast of Exmoor
Beast of Exmoor
The Beast of Exmoor is a cryptozoological cat that is reported to roam the fields of Exmoor in Devon and Somerset in the United Kingdom.-History:...
was reported from Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and the Sheppey
Isle of Sheppey
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some to the east of London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale...
Panther has been rumoured to exist since that decade. In 1980 came the first modern report from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and the Kellas Cat
Kellas Cat
The Kellas Cat is a small black feline found in Scotland. Once thought to be a mythological wild cat, with its few sightings dismissed as hoaxes, a specimen was shot and killed in 1984 by a gamekeeper named Ronnie Douglas and found to be a hybrid between wild and domestic sub-species of Felis...
was shot there in 1984.
Greater interest in phantom cats grew from headline stories of the Beast of Bodmin
Beast of Bodmin
The Beast of Bodmin, also known as The Beast of Bodmin Moor like The Beast of Exmoor, is a phantom wild cat purported to live in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom...
from 1992, and Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
(the Galloway Puma
Galloway Puma
The Galloway Puma is a "phantom cat", a supposedly real big cat, which has been sighted numerous times throughout Dumfries and Galloway, in south-west Scotland.-Sightings:...
). There were many more news stories from different parts of the country.
Government involvement
In 1988, the Ministry of Agriculture took the unusual step of sending in Royal MarinesRoyal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
to carry out a massive search for the rumoured Beast of Exmoor after an increase in the number of mysteriously killed livestock, and farmer complaints over subsequent loss of money. Several Marines claimed to have seen the cat fleetingly, but nothing other than a fox was ever found. The Ministry concluded that reports of the Beast were nothing more than mass hysteria. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
has published a list of predatory cats that they know to have escaped in the United Kingdom, although most of these have been recaptured.
Mythological explanation
For many hundred of years the myth of the spectral Black DogBlack dog (ghost)
A black dog is the name given to a being found primarily in the folklores of the British Isles. The black dog is essentially a nocturnal apparition, often said to be associated with the Devil, and its appearance was regarded as a portent of death. It is generally supposed to be larger than a normal...
has persisted in Britain — a supposed mythical creature appearing as a large black animal in remote moorland with no firm evidence beyond hearsay for its existence. Such stories inspired the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of four crime novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an...
. It has been suggested that the stories of "Black Cats" are merely a modern continuation of such myths and stories, sharing the same elements but with the idea of a supernatural cause having fallen out of credibility (possibly due to the influence of the aforementioned novel) and the modern, more plausible, idea of an escaped or released wildcat supplanting it. In addition, the stories of big cats share many traits suitable for the tabloid press — as such leading to wide exposure of any potential "cat" and further and rapid dissemination of any speculation or supposed evidence for it, helping to build a widespread urban myth.
Further reading
- BCIB Yearbook 2007, Ed. Mark Fraser, CFZ 2008
- Beer, Trevor The Beast of Exmoor: Fact or legend? Countryside Productions 1988
- Brierly, Nigel They stalk by night - the big cats of Exmoor and the South West Yeo Valley Productions 1988
- Francis, Di The Beast of Exmoor and other mystery predators of Britain Johnathan Cape 1993
- Francis, Di Cat Country David and Charles 1982
- Harpur, Merrily Mystery Big Cats Heart of Albion 2006
- Moiser, Chris Mystery Cats of Devon and Cornwall Bossiney Books 2002
- Moiser, Chris Big Cat Mysteries of Somerset Bossiney Books 2005
- Moiser, Chris Mystery Big Cats of Dorset Inspiring Places 2007
- Shuker, KarlKarl ShukerKarl P. N. Shuker is a British zoologist, cryptozoologist, and author living in the West Midlands, England. He works as a full-time freelance zoological consultant, media consultant, and noted author specializing in cryptozoology.- Career :...
Mystery Cats of the World: From Blue Tigers to Exmoor Beasts Robert Hale 1989