After the statement from organisation NATURAL ENGLAND that all big cats are "a myth", it's interesting to note that in March 2010, Kent Big Cat Research received twenty-seven reports of large, exotic cats throughout the county. This suggests of course that either every witness is hallucinating, or NATURAL ENGLAND are completely wrong.
In March 2010 there were sightings from Blue Bell Hill, Lordswood, Densole, Lenham, Canterbury, and Ashford. These mainly concerned reports of black leopard, the most recent coming from a Jules C, who on March 25th at 8:00 am, whilst on a train from Ebbsfleet to Canterbury, stated that, "..on the other side of the tunnel between Boxley and Blue Bell Hill, near train track I saw a big, black cat from a short distance. It resembled a black leopard."
In early March a black leopard was observed by a male motorist, a Mr Wright and his girlfriend. At 6:00 am they travelled down North Dane Way in Lordswood in the Medway Towns and saw a big black cat bound towards the undergrowth. Mr Wright was convinced it was a black leopard as he'd seen a similar one in 2000 in Hempstead.
On march 12th a woman named Anne observed a black leopard in a field at Lenham, near Maidstone. It was 2:15 pm as she travelled on the M20 London bound and saw the cat which she described as being, "very long in the body".
On March 10th a lady named Eve saw a black leopard whilst travelling on a train between Canterbury and Selling.
Cats such as the leopard use railway lines not only for navigation but of a night they provide perfect food and there is a lot of shelter in these areas.
During the same month there were two sightings of a black leopard made by a Jason Roberts from Reinden Woods in Densole.
In 2010 Kent Big Cat Research has already received seventy-three reports of large cats. On 2nd January a member of an angling society from Marden was walking along a field at 4:15 pm when a big, black cat bounded across the field fifty yards away. The cat was around five-feet in length.The witness was quite shocked by the appearnce of the animal as he never previously believed such animals existed.
Five days later a Mr Head reported to police a big black cat which he observed whilst sitting on a train at Swanley station at 9:00 am. The witness noticed a creature on the embankment opposite the Kent bound platform. As people began to move along the platform the cat crouched low. It had piercing green eyes.
The following day on the 8th a black leopard was seen at Pheonix Place in Dartford and on the 15th January a Mr Jackson observed a massive black cat at Shottenden. The sighting took place at 2:15 pm as the animal walked into a field around fifteen yards away. On 31st January a black leopard was observed by a couple in Meopham who were sceptical to such sightings. It was 2:00 pm when they spotted a big black cat on a woodland path which sauntered off into the woods.
In February 2010 there were numerous sightings around Canterbury and Ashford. A black leopard ran out in front of a vehicle near Wye on the 20th at 6:00pm, there were also several sightings from Sevenoaks of a black leopard. In April there were sightings of lynx from Sussex and Romney Marsh, puma from Canterbury and Dover, and black leopard at Hawkinge, Gravesend, and near Bromley and Bexley.
Maybe NATURAL ENGLAND, if they admit to such animals roaming the wilds, would have to re-name themselves UNNATURAL ENGLAND! Sightings date back across Surrey, Kent, and Sussex to the 1500s. A majority of animals sighted in the countryside are not connected to zoo escapee's as the organisation stated. Hundreds of puma and leopards, mainly cubs, were released in the 1960s and '70s and what we are now seeing are their offspring. Also, previous centuries prove that animals escaped and were released from menageries. In 2007 Neil Arnold wrote a 400 page book, MYSTERY ANIMALS OF THE BRITISH ISLES: KENT, a result of his twenty years of research into such animals. Proof that such animals are reported quite regularly across the south-east.
How many strange, and rash statement's will these organisations issue over the next few years ? If some organisations refuse to believe in such animals, it may be wiser to not issue any statements whatsoever. With their type od scepticism is it any wonder that NATURAL ENGLAND and similar groups only receive a handful of reports each year. The vicious circle of repetition continues...
MONSTERS OF KENT is a blog devoted to all manner of sinister creatures, apparitions, bogeymen and folkloric monsters that have prowled, haunted and roamed the lanes, fields and waterways of what is known in the United Kingdom as the 'Garden of England'. This site is a unique eerie chronicle of all that has gone before, and is still taking place in this strange county. Enjoy the dark corners of this rural abode.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
An old strange encounter in Sussex...or was it ?
Neil's latest blog at the Centre for Fortean Zoology
Thursday, April 8, 2010
BIG CAT'S 'A MYTH' - so say NATURAL ENGLAND
So it's official - 'big cats' in the UK wilds are a myth, or so says NATURAL ENGLAND.
If such a statement is true, then why even release it ? Any organisation called NATURAL ENGLAND is certainly not going to admit that large, exotic cats such as puma an lynx inhabits the woods of Britain. Sadly, this ignorance could backfire if a child is attacked in the future by a large cat which may have been injured after someone has shot it.
Reports of large felids in the UK countryside date back centuries. Despite the ignorant scepticism, evidence is in abundance, from the hundreds of reports each year from eye-witnesses, to evidence such as paw-print casts, and kills on livestock.
There is no mystery as to why they are there, an explosion of animals came about after cubs and adult cats were released in the wilds during the 1960s and '70s, mainly after the introduction of the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act. A majority of the animals seen in UK woodlands are NOT zoo escapees, which only occur on a rare occasion.
So-called authorities need to wake up and officially monitor such animals in the wilds. Although not a threat to humans, these are still wild animals, but they do elude humans with ease and mainly hunt at night. Prey in the UK is perfect for such animals but as long as organisations such as NATURAL ENGLAND continue to dismiss the evidence, it seems that such animals will forever be condemned to the murky world of UFOs and ghosts, when in reality there are viable populations of black leopard, puma, lynx and smaller cats in Britain.
If such a statement is true, then why even release it ? Any organisation called NATURAL ENGLAND is certainly not going to admit that large, exotic cats such as puma an lynx inhabits the woods of Britain. Sadly, this ignorance could backfire if a child is attacked in the future by a large cat which may have been injured after someone has shot it.
Reports of large felids in the UK countryside date back centuries. Despite the ignorant scepticism, evidence is in abundance, from the hundreds of reports each year from eye-witnesses, to evidence such as paw-print casts, and kills on livestock.
There is no mystery as to why they are there, an explosion of animals came about after cubs and adult cats were released in the wilds during the 1960s and '70s, mainly after the introduction of the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act. A majority of the animals seen in UK woodlands are NOT zoo escapees, which only occur on a rare occasion.
So-called authorities need to wake up and officially monitor such animals in the wilds. Although not a threat to humans, these are still wild animals, but they do elude humans with ease and mainly hunt at night. Prey in the UK is perfect for such animals but as long as organisations such as NATURAL ENGLAND continue to dismiss the evidence, it seems that such animals will forever be condemned to the murky world of UFOs and ghosts, when in reality there are viable populations of black leopard, puma, lynx and smaller cats in Britain.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Coming Soon..to a bookshop near you!
PARANORMAL LONDON...A NEW BOOK BY NEIL ARNOLD.
They say that in London you're never more than five-feet away from a rat. After reading PARANORMAL LONDON rats will be the last thing on your mind.
A surreal safari through the concrete jungle will introduce you to a menagerie of mystery as we meet hellhounds, the spectral ape of Hampstead, the Highgate 'vampire', ghostly bears, mystery 'big cats', ghostly birds, and more...
Roll up, roll up for the magical mystery tour...UFOs, phantom airships, spectral stone throwers, fish from the sky, flying jellyfish, phantom assailants...
PARANORMAL LONDON...WHERE THE WILD...AND THE WEIRD THINGS ARE.
Coming soon to a book store near you.
Friday, April 2, 2010
'Beast' of Blue Bell Hill seen again ?
In 2000 Neil Arnold twice observed a black leopard on the outskirts of Blue Bell Hill, and again in 2008. On 5th March 2010 at 6:30 am two witnesses travelling from Lordswood observed a large, black cat which bounded across the North Dane Way road from Lordswood, into undergrowth, heading towards Capstone Country Park. The male witness, who was driving, was certain the animal was a black leopard as he'd seen a similar animal in 2000.
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