Where do these Big Cats come from? They are not natve of this land Scotland - and yet they've killed live stock, left behind paw prints, and countless of people have sighted them. Will there ever be an end to the mystery of the Big Cats? All Information by permission of Mark Fraser of the Scottish & Brittish Big Cats.
Apprx half a mile from the Cunningham Walk Park in a heavily wooded area, the witness states he saw a black panther type animal. Most definitely a cat. 19.30hrs twilight.
Stewarton resident/ Half a mile from the town centre at Cunningham Walk Park. The witness was walking his dog when his animal stopped dead in its tracks, he looked up and saw what he said was most definitely a Lynx sat on the path staring at them, no more than 25 feet away. The dog started backing off. The Lynx stared at them for a few moments up and down, stood up and casually turned to walk away into bushes.
Described as Labrador-size, pointed ears with the tufts / dark fawn / quite stocky or obviously well fed, short docked tail.
Evidence of big cat activity in Britain, including new video footage and a list of dead cats, will be released this weekend when The British Big Cat Society holds its annual Big Cat weekend at Dartmoor Wildlife Park. The evidence which includes new video footage, sheep kills, horse attacks, paw prints, - and also details of 2 big cat encounters which the BBCS investigated earlier this year, both of which are now confirmed as feline 'encounters.'
During the last year since it was set up the BBCS have now had over 1,000 reports of Big Cats in Britain - nearly 500 alone for last year (2001).
Danny Bamping - Founder of the Society said:
"During the first 8 months of 2002 we have seen an incredible amount of big cat activity - 2 big cat 'encounters', new video and even photo's of 'bodies' of dead cats! We look forward to revealing our new evidence to our members and the media - and also putting it all on our website for the public to view."
"The publishing of this NEW 'up-to-date' list of cats from Britain in the last 20 years - certainly helps put into perspective the reality of the exotic cat situation that we currently have in Britain. There is not 1 county that the BBCS have NOT had a confirmed Big Cat Sighting in. The response from the public has been fantastic - and the website has certainly aided a lot of people in coming forward."
The BBCS now has a network of over 500 members around the UK and is about to undertake a nationwide 'trigger camera' project. It is now actively seeking funding, sponsorship and donations in order to become a registered charity and start to develop some serious scientific research to confirm the existence of big cats in the British countryside.
Mark Fraser - who heads the Scottish arm of the BBCS - also said:
"Lynx are now present in the Scottish countryside, I believe that they are established and breeding. I do not want to hazard a guess at the numbers, but suffice to say there are several pockets. Notable hotspots being Fife, Aberdeenshire, around Inverness and borders, to mention a few."
Mark Is Determined To Clear Up A Mystery That's Fascinated Ayrshire For Decades.
Some guys play football, some play golf. Others prefer to work in their garden of an afternoon. But its a fair bet that none of them while away their leisure-hours hunting for big cats in Ayrshire. Apart from intrepid Mark Fraser that is. He has made it his life's work proving a real-life Tony the Tiger existes in our woods.
The legend of a big cat roaming the Ayrshire countryside is not new and has long been regarded as an old wives tale. Older readers may even remember the Ayrshire Post on the bogus trail of a puma reportedly sighted in the Carrick Hills in the 70's which led to a search of the Culzean estate. However, a fresh surge of sightings has given rise to speculation that there may be more fact to the fiction. And security guard Mark (39) of Troon, is certain something is out there, despite never setting eyes on one himself.
Investigate.
He has hidden in tree's and camouflaged himself on the ground with hi-tech cameras in his bid to get proof. Mark said: "I've been doing this as a hobby for eight years now and its a bit frustrating to say the least. Even my wife Hannah has spotted a couple over the years which is a bit ironic really. This is a real passion for me and I spend as much time on it as possible. After reports of sightings come in I will investigate and perhaps even stake out the area with infra-red cameras overnight. I recently spent a full week out in the country near Galston after a sighting, but cats aren't stupid and it never appeared again. But over the years I've collected tree scratchings, hairs, paw prints and faeces, so I believe there is a big cat of some kind out there."
Mark's pwn web site http://www.scottishbigcats.co.uk/home.htm has received reports of 15 different sightings of big cats in Ayrshire alone this year. Some of the sightings are:
a.. August 12th: Near Dundonald: a sheep was found disembowelled; the farmer said he had never seen anything like it before.
b.. August 6th: Ballantrae, 6am: a tourist described seeing something taller and longer than his Labrador, with pointed ear's and a swishing black tail.
c.. August 5th: Near Galston; large fawn cat, three times domestic-size spotted eating a rabbit.
d.. July 18th: Galston: large black cat seen on a farm where it was also spotted on March 30th
e.. July 5th: Darvel: Aggressive family Alsatian backs away from a huge cat-like animal in owners back garden.
f.. June 26th: Sorn: large black cat seen attacking sheep.
g.. March 2nd: Electric Brae, near Dunure: a large wildcat, as big as a collie, spotted by a wedding party at 11pm.
Despite people scoffing at the suggestions that a predator could be lurking behind the barbecue, Mark has carried on relentlessly. He has even produced casts of what he claims were paw prints from something more than a little larger than Postman's Pat side-kick. Mark Stressed: "I have a cast of a print that is four inches by three inches. I would defy anyone to tell me it does not belong to a big cat. There is one out there I am convinced of that. I'll just keep going until I get the proof. It gets me out in the fresh air and keeps me off the streets.
If you think you have a big cat sighting, don't panic. Contact Mark on the website or by mobile on 07940 016972.
They were once dismissed as the stuff of myth. But now it seems there may be some substance to fears that big cats are prowling the wilds of Scotland. 'Sightings' of Lynx, Pumas, panthers and similar beasts have soared this year - more than 130 so far, compared with about 40 for each full year since figures were first compiled in 1999. And the British Big Cat Society - which is due to produce a dossier of evidence at the end of this month - says their presence in Scotland is now beginning to be officially accepted. Hotspots for sightings include Aberdeenshire, the Borders, Fife, Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire and Renfrewshire. Early last month, there were several reports of a large black cat at Ballantrae in South Ayrshire. There were also repeated sightings of an animal believed to be a Puma in the grounds of Merchiston Hospital in Johnstone, Renfrewshire.
In recent weeks, witnesses just north of Stirling reported seeing what they described as a 'dark, leopard-like cat, kill a badger. Another big black cat was seen attacking a domestic cat in Galahill, Galashiels, at the end of July. Since then, five pet cats in the town have gone missing. In May, a dead stag was found at Annandale, Dumfriesshire, with bite marks in its throat and deep scratches in its shoulder, injuries said to be consistent with a big cat attack. Experts say it is rare for big cats to pounce on humans but they do believe they could have been responsible for a strinng of attacks on pets, livestock and wildfowl in recent months.
Mark Fraser head of the Scottish branch of the British Big Cat Society, warned people not to approach any of the animals that they see. He added: "We have had 133 sightings this year in Scotland so far this year, thats a huge increase on previous years. In 1999 I was told of about 40 sightings in Scotland. From the descriptions we have gathered we have definitely got Lynx in Scotland. I now believe Lynx are established and breeding in the Scottish countryside. There have also been sightings of brown pumas, especially around the south of Glasgow. But as far as black cats go, I don't believe there are a lot of panthers around because there would have been a lot more injuries." He continued: "From the number of sightings, it is clear there are a lot of these big cats in Scotland. Two or three cats may be responsible for 30 sightings in a fairly large area. These cats tend to roam and they have large territories. In the case of the Lynx, I would say there might be around 20 in Scotland. These big cats are not generally going to attack humans. A fully grown Puma can live on a couple of rabbits a day and there are plenty of deer and game birds to keep them satisfied." The Society believes more sightings are being reported as people become increasingly confident that their evidence will be taken seriously. Its dossier will include some photographs. But Mr. Fraser admits that hard photographic evidence of big cats is still rare.
Dr. Hans Kruuk, a retired ecologist and leading authority on big cats, is still not convinced that the Scottish sightings are authentic. He said: "Every sighting has to be judged on its own merits. But I know how easy it is to get these things wrong. I have worked a lot with big cats in Africa and its very easy, especially in bad light and at a distance, to make a mistake. I'm just saying that people have to be careful before saying that they ahve seen a big cat." He added: "I have been called in by police a number of times about sightings or where sheep have been killed and, in all these instances, I have found no evidence that big cats have been involved.
"I have still not seen anything to suggest there are big cats in Scotland. I would want to see photo's, tracks, fur caught in barbed wire, any of the normal things ecologists look at. A lot of these reported sightings must be mistakes and others wishful thinking. Almost all the sightings are of black cats but, in Africa and America, the black cats make up only a tiny proportion of the cat population. I am not dismissing all od these sightings, but I think its important to have a healthy dose of scepticism while there is still no real evidence that these big cats exist."
Scottish Daily Mail: 9th September, 2002.
I would just like to point out that most of the things that Dr. Hans Kruuk said in this piece, I actually said and pointed out to Chris Marks the reporter, but obviously here they needed a pro and anti!
Special 'Thank you!' to Mark Fraser for this Big Cat News Update! Don't forget to view his site for recorded sightings and articles on the Scottish Big Cats!
A resurgence of sightings of the so-called Beast of Bodmin Moor and further attacks on animals has prompted calls for a Government inquiry into the phenomenon to be reopened. Liberal Democrat Paul Tyler, MP for Cornwall North, met junior Agriculture Minister Elliot Morley to urge him to consider new evidence. Mr Tyler said that he had photographic evidence of sightings of the Beast, evidence of bite marks on attacked animals "likely to be by a big cat" and a new scientific study of droppings believed to have come from the wild creature.
UNITED KINGDOM
THE HERALD 03/12/97 P6
28Nov97 UK: 'BEAST' - THE PROOF.
THIS is the picture that proves beyond doubt that big cats are roaming the Westcountry.
Said by experts to be an adult female puma - possibly pregnant - it was caught on camera in the St Austell area of Cornwall. Behind it, seemingly curled in a ball, there appears to be another big cat which, from its markings, may be a cub.
A branch hanging down the large cat's back was measured at two feet from the ground. Following publication of the picture, pressure is mounting on the Government to re-open the inquiry into the so-called Beast of Bodmin.
The picture was given to Cornish Guardian Editor Alan Cooper by a reader who has seen the pumas on a regular basis. It was taken by shooting the camera through a pair of binoculars.
Another long-range panoramic photograph shows the puma sitting on its haunches. This shot has not been released, as the photographer does not want the exact location revealed.
He said: "My wife and I first saw the cats locally on Christmas Day last year. We saw them again two weeks later and several times afterwards, until they disappeared with the arrival of holiday makers around Easter this year."
The animals appeared for an hour or two after daybreak on cold sunny mornings, as if for a spot of sunbathing. They were last seen at this location around two weeks ago. "I mentioned these animals to other people and, comparing sightings, it does seem that these two have been spotted four or five miles away.
"These animals are very shy. Nobody here would like to disturb them. We do not want to attract gun or camera shooters." Mr Cooper, who published the above picture yesterday, said he was convinced the pictures were genuine.
"I have no doubt about their authenticity - if I had then I wouldn't have printed them," he said. "I was talking to this chap about a completely different matter when the subject came up - it was round about the time of other sightings, and I asked if he had pictures.
"The phone has been going mad all day with national papers wanting the photos. He is a very honest guy, who doesn't want to make money out this - any profits will go to charity."
UNITED KINGDOM
WESTERN MORNING NEWS 28/11/97 P1
28Nov97 UK: AMAZING PUMA PHOTO STUNS BIG CAT EXPERTS.
THIS photographic evidence of the existence of big cats in the Westcountry - the clearest yet published - has amazed big cat experts and followers of the legendary "Beast of Bodmin Moor".
The creature's paw prints and droppings were also discovered at the same time on a local beach. The tracks came from a rocky outcrop which can only be reached from an extremely steep cliff.
The droppings are now being DNA tested and results are expected before Christmas.
For years reported sightings, mysterious footprints and slaughtered livestock across the Westcountry, have fired the imagination of people worldwide. Exmoor, Dartmoor and Bodmin have all been credited with having their own "beast", but experts agree there is nothing mythical about these animals.
They are, most likely, large cats released into the wild following the introduction of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act in the 1970s, which imposed new restrictions on the keeping of exotic pets.
Since then, the cats have thrived and bred in remote areas and could now number as many as 20, according to WMN wildlife expert Trevor Beer, who has spent many years studying them.
Specialists said yesterday the latest photo was breathtaking, and an important addition to the ever-increasing amount of evidence.
Mike Thomas, curator of Newquay Zoo which keeps pumas, said the picture was "remarkable".
"It is definitely a puma and it looks very fat, fit and contented. The size of its head suggests it is a female, and it may be pregnant," he said.
"This is not the first time I have been shown an anonymous photo of a puma. If only we knew who had taken it and where it was, it would be easier to verify.
"But we know there are big cats out there, and along with the faeces and paw prints we already have, this is yet another piece in the jigsaw."
In October, a big cat was spotted drinking in a disused quarry in the St Austell area. Casts of its footprints where compared with those of the pumas in Newquay Zoo and found to be almost an exact match.
Plymouth vet Nigel Taylor said if the latest pictures were real, they were the best ever of a big cat in Cornwall.
"As soon as I saw those pictures I knew it was a puma," he said. "If that's a domestic cat, I'd like to see the number of tins of Whiskas it eats every day."
Trevor Beer said the picture looked genuine, although he would have liked to have seen the cat in more poses."It does look very, very good. If the measurements of that branch are correct, then the cat would be about two and a half feet tall, which is the normal height."
Mr Beer said baby pumas were mottled in colour, but that due to the quality of the photo it was not possible to say if the other animal apparently pictured was a cub.
"It could be a young one, but I really wouldn't like to say. I would love to see a better shot," he said.
In 1994, the sightings of big cats on Bodmin Moor became such a major topic of public debate that the Government ordered an inquiry.
Experts from the Ministry of Agriculture spent 26 days looking into the issue, but found no conclusive evidence. The case was left open.
Paul Tyler, MP for North Cornwall and a staunch believer in the cats, said he would be sending a copy of the new photo, along with other recently collected evidence, including letters from WMN readers, to Countryside Minister Elliott Morley.
Mr Tyler is pressing for a thorough Government investigation to establish the extent of the big cat phenomenon in the Westcountry, and whether they present a danger to livestock and the public. He also wants more people to come forward with evidence of sightings but thinks they may fear ridicule.
He said: "In 1994 I gave ministers sufficient material to get an inquiry going. This is enough to make sure it is extended and brought to a more successful conclusion."
A Ministry of Agriculture spokesman said the fresh evidence would be considered.
UNITED KINGDOM
WESTERN MORNING NEWS 28/11/97 P3
An unidentified photo purporting to show the Beast of Bodmin:
I don't believe this is the photo discussed above, but in any case, it is not that impressive. It's hard to detect scale in the photo, and it could be simply of a large black house cat. The mystery continues!
