THE SCEPTICS vs BIG CATS

Okay, so scepticism is healthy, especially regarding 'big cat' sightings in the UK, maybe it's a good thing that such animals aren't believed because maybe then they can live their lives in peace...but the most irritating aspect of some sceptics is their sheer lack of knowledge of a situation and yet they persist in questioning it.

The most common sceptic in the field of exotic cat research is the one who calls to say, "Well, I haven't seen anything so these animals surely can't exist!"...., these people are almost as bad as the so-called researchers who are only looking into 'big cat' sightings in order to get in the newspaper. They are just as damaging to the situation as any hunter, yet they sit behind their PC all day, collecting reports for a mythical group who give out yearly statistics which the press gobble up, and who occasionally dress up like camouflaged lunatics and patrol the fields at night, praying for their precious sighting. The charge of the fright brigade.

The sceptics have many questions, some valid, some common and worryingly repetitive, some ridiculous. Yet I think they need to be answered.

1) How did these cats get here ? Well, despite the common theory that 'all' the animals out there in the U.K. today are escapees or felids released, this doesn't seem the case, as there are many reports of cats roaming the countryside which date back many, many centuries. So, why oh why does this theory constantly pop up as the answer for the populations of animals out there ? Yes, the influx of animals released into the wilds in the 1970s most certainly upped the numbers of exotics such as leopard and puma, but this is not the answer. This 'big cat' mystery as people like to call only seems reasonably modern because the press have only really shown a persistent interest since the Surrey puma sightings of the '60s, and then onto Exmoor and Bodmin, and those of today. Again though, I strongly believe that since the Romans settled here with their amphitheatres there has been a steady trickle of animals into the countryside, add to that travelling menageries, circus animals, private collections, cat mascots, cats imported on boats for purposes such as ratting, some animals escaping from zoo's..blah blah blah.

2) If these are cats are out there why aren't they seen more often, or by sceptics ? Well, they are. Just because some irritating sceptic hasn't seen one whilst on his pheasant shoot doesn't mean these animals aren't there. Sightings are very common but can only reach the press via witnesses or researchers. However, sighting statistics which feature in the press are not a true reflection of the amount of cats which are sighted yearly. For every large cat sighted there must be handfuls that aren't. Sightings are often pure chance, o quiet lanes witnessed by motorists, or in fields as a dog-walker strolls by. Not many cats are tracked and sighted. Just ask the impatient researchers out there who move from spot to spot in their camouflage, armed with binoculars and deer urine! It's not how it works...

3) If these cats exist (remember, sceptics are too obstinate to actually check the data) what are they eating, isn't Britain too cold for them, and why aren't these animals found dead ? Britain is perfect territory for a puma or leopard. The puma is native to varying climates, from the swamplands of Florida, the woodlands of Vermont, and the cold rocky terrain of Canada, so the U.K. isn't a problem. However, what many people seem to forget is that the cats in the U.K. are not being brought over from a country such as Africa and being released, they are very much British 'big cats', born here. The habitat is ideal, from forests in Scotland, to dense woodlands in Kent, but these animals can survive in a variety of surroundings, motorways, shopping centres, built-up neighbourhoods, rivers, streams, valleys, towns etc are not obstacles. These cats are mainly hunting at night so back gardens, parks, school playgrounds etc are common ground for them, and many sightings during the day also prove that these cats have vast territories that take in a variety of terrain.

Prey is also in abundance. Rabbits, deer, pheasants, swans, goats, pigeons, squirrels, lambs, sheep, domestic cats, small dogs, geese, chickens, mice, rats, foxes, the list is endless.

When people ask as to why large cats haven't been found dead on the roads or in woodlands I always ask back, "Have you ever found a dead fox in the woods ?", and often the reply is "No". So, if there are thousands of foxes out there, and far less cats, what are the chances of finding a dead cat ? Remote. A large cat may die in some remote area and be scavenged, but on the roads there have, in the past been a few incidents regarding animals such as lynx and jungle cat, hit by vehicles and killed. The only pathetic thing regarding such an unfortunate event is that usually someone from the RSPCA or whoever comes and clears the body away all hush, hush which seems a little ridiculous when you consider it's just a cat and not a monster, but because the officials and authorities refuse to accept these cats exist, they remain mere legend and myth, but I'm not sure why such animals are ignored. Maybe authorities fear mass hysteria but a majority of the general public either know these animals exist or couldn't care less.

Also, there have been cases where cats such as lynx have been shot and killed, but once again, these kind of incidents are few and far between.

4) If so many big cats are roaming the countryside, why aren't there more signs of them ? This was a question actually asked by a so-called 'expert' big cat keeper at a zoo. The answer is easy. There are signs, it's just a shame Mr Sceptic doesn't get out more often. Basically, there are several to signify whether a large cat is in the area. Paw-prints area prime example but not something I look for that often. Pathways in woods etc, are often disturbed or prints are often not clear enough to determine which animal made them, or they may not be easy to cast. However, a cat-print, if clear, is very different from a dog-print, as a dog doesn't retract its claws, but again, unless a print is clear, identification can be difficult and a waste of time.

Finding something like an eaten sheep, or goat is perfect evidence for big cat activity. There is no animal native to the U.K. that kills like a leopard or puma, and I still can't understand why sheep kills and the like are still dismissed or put down to dogs. Dogs are not stealthy animals that puncture the throat of prey and then cleanly strip the flesh, rasping with the tongue to leave a perfectly devoured victim. Also, a dog will not take a ewe into a tree, in fact all a dog often does is spitefully nip and tear at its victim, often maiming and leaving the scene. Foxes will kill to eat but generally make a mess of pigeons or chickens, whereas a large cat may leave a pile of feathers but no blood, or no remains at all of prey such as rabbit.

Excrement is also worth looking out for around a kill, and also hair that may have been caught on a fence, but one of the most impressive signs are scratch marks up trees. It is often the last place people look for a big cat and the leopard is an agile hunter that will lay up in a tree to store food or to rest. A leopard will also mark a tree, scoring it with its claws, scent glands in its feet enable it to mark its territory, and such markings will range from four-feet and upwards, whereas badgers, which also scratch trees will generally reach about three-feet and have five toes, the cat of course has four.

Other signs are strong smell of urine, although a fox will also leave this scent. Cat calls are also very distinctive, especially that of the puma which is a terrifyingly eerie scream. The leopard omits more of a deep sawing cough, the lynx bird-like chirps.

5) Are pumas black ? What is a black panther ? Why aren't normal 'spotted' leopards sighted in the U.K. ?

Despite the constant inaccurate press reports there is no such thing as a black puma. The puma is fawn-dark tan-coloured with a lighter underside and a dark tip to the tail. A black 'panther' is NOT species of cat but a mere term to describe a black leopard. However, because people often don't realise leopards can be black, they assume the animal they've seen is either a black puma or 'panther'. In the U.S. this is more confusing as the 'panther' is another term for the puma (also mountain lion, catamount and cougar) and there are sightings of black cats out there which locals tend to accept as black pumas, but a black puma is not something known to exist. Although dark specimens have been seen, there are not pumas on record as having a coat dark enough to be deemed black. The black cats sighted in the U.K., and possibly across the world are black leopards. This is a caused by melanin, a dark pigment to the coat. Melanistic leopards only give birth to black offspring hence the fact that only black (which in fat are very, very dark brown) leopards are sighted in the U.K. Across the world there may be exceptions where other melanistic cats may be sighted, or other dark coated cats such as the jaguarundi, but in most cases people are seeing black leopards. Sightings of the normal spotted leopards in the U.K. are extremely scarce, which points to the origins of the current populations as being that of exotic pets, mascots, etc.

6) Are there lions and tigers at large in the U.K. ? The only chance a lion or tiger could be on the loose in the U.K. is if one escapes from a zoo, even then, attempts to capture it should not be a great problem. The lion is not an elusive animal in its country of origin, they live in a pride, and like the tiger, will seek larger prey, possibly man. In the past there have been one or two reports of striped cats or animals resembling a lioness, but the fact that the reports died out suggested that people were possibly seeing smaller species of cat and wrongly identifying them, or nothing at all. Reports of cheetah and jaguar are also very few and far between, and one report in the '70s of a Clouded Leopard in Kent was true, it had escaped from a zoo, and was shot after being at large for eighteen months.

7) Why aren't there more attacks on humans if there are so many cats out there ? Again, prey in the countryside is abundant, the only chance there is if someone being attacked is if a cat is cornered, provoked or injured to the extent that it cannot hunt its usually prey such as rabbit. Puma have been known to attack in the U.S., joggers and cyclists are easy targets because as they flit through the trees they look like natural prey, but bees, deer and dogs cause more deaths each year. Leopards are known as man-eaters in their countries of origin but many of these tales are myth, and in the U.K. the so-called attacks that have allegedly taken place seem very dubious. Also, anyone that sets out to hunt a cat deserves to get a retaliation. Should anyone else come in close contact with a large cat such a puma, I advise they stand their ground then back off slowly always remaining in eye-contact with the animal. Do not run.

8) Are these cats breeding ? Whilst the Jungle Cat is able to breed with the domestic cat, a leopard would not breed with a puma, or lynx etc. Whilst attempts in zoo parks have produced strange hybrids, in the wilds this will not occur. There are no monster mutant cats out there, and in most cases where smaller black cats are being sighted, we are simply dealing with young black leopards, and the fact that these individuals have been born into a smaller environment, with smaller prey.

9) How many differing species of cat are out there exactly ? The most commonly sighted cats in the U.K. are the black leopard and the puma with lynx close behind. Reports of smaller cats such as jungle cat, ocelot, leopard cat, caracal and serval are far less, but I'm pretty sure that there is a variety of smaller felid roaming the U.K., but these are harder to track as these cats hunt smaller prey, and not every witness will be able to identify an individual in order for a researcher to track it.

10) If these cats are out there, why aren't the government interested ? I think they are, and there are officials monitoring some situations and several sightings across the U.K. are taken very seriously. Marksmen have been called out, unnecessarily to places such as Wales and in the west country to either suggest that they are on the ball or that they just want to be seen as doing something although they haven't got a clue. If a marksmen only injures a cat such as a leopard then they will no doubt create a very unhappy beast. Attacks on sheep are also monitored by bodies such as DEFRA, but again, if anything serious ever occurs such events seem to be dealt with in a covert manner which is rather pathetic.

11) How many exotic cats roam Britain ? It is too difficult to determine, as smaller cats are far harder to track, but each county in England most certainly has more than two black leopards and puma, and hundreds of years worth of sightings must surely suggest we are dealing with a very high number of animals, far higher than 'experts' estimate. It's a steady increase that may explode in twenty or so years. Two parents can produce up to four young, a rather worrying fact maybe ?

12) Do these cats have any legend in the supernatural or connections to 'black dog' reports in the past ? Anyone who believes that these cats are paranormal or 'demons from another world' need their head testing. The theory is laughable. Over the centuries reports of 'hellhounds' and the like seem common the world over and some may have been very old reports of black leopards when you consider that people at the time were not used to seeing melanistic leopards in the wilds and so when they saw, on a stormy night, a black animal bound up a tree, they may have believed they had seen a dog with supernatural agility but the reality is, the 'black dog' phenomenon is a very separate issue to the very flesh and blood 'big cat' situation. Large cats roaming the U.K. are not ghosts of prehistoric cats.

PHANTOM DOG OF LEEDS CASTLE

A popular legend, although sightings of such a spectre seem few and far between.

Such a beast was said to haunt particular areas of the castle which has stood for more than one-thousand years on two islands, at its home near Maidstone.

The ghost was said to be a bad omen and every time it was spotted in one of the passageways or rooms, then a death or tragedy would surely occur. However, the most famous incident surrounding the ghost was not ominous at all, for it saved the life of a female resident. According to legend the apparition appeared to the woman, who followed the creature out the door. Seconds later, the bay window which she was peering out from collapsed and would surely have killed her if she'd stayed at the spot.

It seems that the black hound may well be connected to the museum at the castle which displays a fine collection of dog collars!

WEIRD ACCOLADE...

'WEIRD ACCOLADE FOR LOCAL HAUNT' read the Medway Today of 4th May 2001, stating that, "...a village in Medway has been named the weirdest in Kent", and continued that, "...Blue Bell Hill is the only place in the county listed in Bizarre Magazine's 'Weird Britannia League'. The village was chosen because of the ghostly hitchhiker who appears and disappears as drivers approach. It is also home to the mysterious 'panther'-like animal known as the 'beast' of Blue Bell Hill.

Kent came eleventh in Bizarre's league.

...and no, the newspaper clipping merely showed a 'wild cat' and not a 'big cat'!

Mysterious attacks...

Over the centuries there have been several incidents in which many sheep at certain locations across Kent, have been killed or heavily wounded, and yet no sign of a predator. Large cats have been ruled out because no sheep have been killed, or shown injuries that would suggest something like puma or leopard.
Many owners who have found their flocks battered and savaged have also ruled out dogs because in some cases the dogs have either never showed up again, or, in some cases, the victims, which in some instances have been cattle, have had wounds inflicted that suggest the work of a precision laser, very eerie discoveries which have been echoed across the U.S.A. for many, many decades, known as 'animal mutilations'.

In 1998 24 lambs were killed over the course of two nights despite farmers keeping watch over the area and hearing no sounds such as barking. A dog once among a flock would rip and tear its victims and leave them with bloodied legs, heads, ears, which in some cases, is the damage done, but no sign of the marauder. A large cat such as a leopard would kill to eat, biting the throat of say, a ewe, bringing it down and stripping the flesh, often the shoulder. Scratch marks would be evident and also puncture marks to the throat and the kill would be very tidy as the large cat rasps the flesh with its tongue.
Foxes would make mess of lambs, but again, farmers are quite familiar with attacks by certain animals.

Over the years there have been numerous savage attacks on sheep, cows and lambs in Medway, Gravesend, Ashford and Canterbury, and also strange, precise attacks in the same areas where it appears animals were definitely not the cause.

During 2004, 2005, and 2006 many domestic cats were found decapitated and lacerated around the outskirts of London, particularly Sidcup, Bexley, Plumstead and the likes. The press and the police believed at first they were looking for a demented person who was removing heads and tails of these animals and dumping them, but then the police claimed that such attacks were nothing more than animals being hit by cars, although most of the victims were not found in the road. Several attacks could well have been blamed on a large cat such as a leopard as there were sightings on the outskirts of London and deer have often been found in the woods eaten by an unseen predator, likely to have been a 'big cat'.

In 1999 a goat was found mysteriously mutilated at a local fort. Whilst the press were eager to jump on the bandwagon after Halloween and claim it was the work of occultists, it appeared that a 'big cat' was possibly to blame, however, other carcasses found in the area suggested something very sinister was also going on, despite sceptical attitudes towards diabolical practices. However mutilated cattle found in 2003 in Medway were completely different. The wounds evident showed that the rectal areas of two calves had been surgically removed as had tissue around the face. The victims were also completely stiff when found the next morning, and not from the cold.

FOR CAVORTING WITH DEMONS...

The often misinterpreted word 'witchcraft' often sends shivers down the spine of those who have, for centuries, misunderstood it. It conjures images of grim tales of voodoo, possession, sorcery, diabolical summonings, curses and witches entertaining monstrous apparitions. Many of the 'satanic panics' have been nothing more than media conjuration whereas the fascination of white magic has been somewhat clouded by the imaginary dark blanket of so-called devilish cults. Yet, during the famous witch trials of many centuries ago, there were indeed cases in witch so-called 'witches' and sorcerers were accused of cavorting with demons and raising familiars.

Condemnation of Edmund, Earl of Kent on political grounds; had obtained important information from a demon through the mediation of a friar. Edmund is brother of Edward II (murdered). Condemned in Wincester Parliament of 1330. Kent had heard that Edward was still alive and his consequent action in Edward's interest was the pretext for his conviction and execution on March 19. Whole affair engineered by Roger Mortimer (lover of Queen Isabella), young Edward III not yet in charge. On March 24 Mortimer sent a letter to the pope explaining and justifying the crime; declared that Edmund had got the info from a demon conjured by a friar. When Mortimer was condemned the following November, the parliament surely had the matter of the demon in mind, saying that he managed to convey the report that Edward was still living to Kent, whereupon the Earl investigated the matter, '...by all the good means he knew of'.

During 1534 the Holy Maid of Kent vented her unhappiness in regards to a tree upon some land. Such an outburst was taken by the then King Henry as an insult. Allegedly, the maid had also told the king that should he ever leave Queen Catherine, the he would die within a few months. Of course, such remarks led to the maid's persecution.

In 1586 a Joan Cason was accused, via 'witchcraft', of killing a child named Joan Crook. She was tried at Faversham and accused of having 'familiars. She was sentenced to death.

1671 saw a Woolwich widow tried in Kent for feeding, entertaining and employing a familiar that looked like a rat.

In 1692 three women were accused of consulting and covenanting with strange creatures in the shape of mice.

Whilst the witch-craze sparked many unnecessary executions, several centuries later the public and the press still interpret 'witchcraft' as something sinister, despite the fact that it's difficult to often siphon out the yobs from the vandals, the drunken rock fans from the sicko's, with a majority of these not having a clue about either white or black magic.

During the late '60s at Fordwich a tortured kitten was discovered and reported to a local newspaper. The poor creature bore marks to suggest it had been burned, and near the body black candles were found, and according to the media, a 'witches circle'. A few years after several animal skulls were found in the chimney of a Chatham house. One of these skulls was coloured black, and a museum owner identified it as possibly belonging to a boar or a bear which have been used for ritual purposes.

The village of Cobham has a dark history, particularly in the area of the mausoleum buried in the woods. A dating couple allegedly uncovered a red circle daubed on the ground the the sacred hexagon of Solomon in the centre. A gored rabbit and an eerie doll were also found in the area. The press had a field day.

Around the same time coffins were desecrated in the Canterbury area after which the police acknowledged was indeed the work of drag-crazed vandals, although how they knew this is any one's guess, but I guess that anyone can be blamed as a satanist!!

During the '80s a local 'witch' was driven from her home in Medway , and the haunted area of Blue Bell Hill has often been associated with dark magic, although white witches often operate in the area and yet those who stumble upon such practices are obviously dramatic enough to run to the press and the police with tales of sorcery and ritual. White witch Kevin Carlyon has visited the area on numerous occasions, legend even has it that the Kits Coty house was formed by four witches on a dark and stormy night, although this is simply untrue, yet very eerie folklore. Just like much of what Wicca is about. And whilst the Devil may truly exist, those that practice witchcraft have a true connection with nature, and NOT the underworld.

FLYING AND BUZZING AND OUT OF PLACE THINGS...

Fortean Times magazine reported on the flying squirrel of Tatsfield. Although undated, but rumoured to be in the '70s or '80s, a witness reported, "...I was coming round a bend of a country lane and saw this grey creature fly across in front of the car, from one tree to another. The front and rear limbs of the creature appeared to be joined by a flap of skin and it floated and clung to the bark. I'm sure sightings would have been few and far between but I actually saw a similar, if not the same creature again shortly after, but on the other side of Tatsfield."

In 1998 strange, green parakeets were sighted near Blue Bell Hill and one of the local newspapers asked, 'HAVE YOU SEEN THE GREEN ALIEN ?" after various sightings of the birds which were said to have come from West Africa and India. They were the size of collared doves and scream like children in a playground. Such birds, among other migratory oddities, have also appeared in the skies over the Isle of Sheppey, home also to rare voles and red rabbits!

During the late '90s there were reports over Kent of a large, dark-coloured bird which was eventually identified as a vulture. News spread fast of the bird and a man came forward to claim that the bird has in fact escaped from a park. However, there seemed to be too many sightings, and too far and wide to concern the one missing vulture.

In 1948 south Kent was besieged by an unusually large number of rooks. The black hordes allegedly invaded from France and damaged crops in the Romney Marsh area. In the past also there have been several insect swarms, most notably that of ladybirds.

The Maid of Kent beetle was rediscovered in 1997 at a sanctuary lavatory on the Isle of Sheppey. The one-inch long insect was last seen officially in Kent in 1950 and reported officially extinct during the '60s! It resembles a golden-haired bee.

All manner of foreign spiders, scorpions and the likes seem to have made their way to the Kent coast and are now establishing themselves in the woods and on the sea walls.

An alligator was rumoured to have been hooked by an angler at Capstone Park in Chatham during the '90s, and another was said to reside in a pond-cum-lake at Warden Bay, Sheppey. One was most certainly sighted in the '70s on the banks of the River Stour.

During the late '90s the local wildlife trust were becoming alarmed at the amount of dead otters turning up in the county, particularly Sevenoaks, with one corpse being discovered near the railway line. Otters have been pretty much of a rare species in Kent, making the sudden turn up of carcasses a mystery.
To quote Biodiversitysussex.org:
"In the middle of the 1950s otters were considered to be common and widespread across much of England (Stephens, 1957). However, by the early 1960s otter hunts in this country were reporting diminishing hunting success and it appears that otter populations crashed across England in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This was due mainly to the introduction of organochlorine pesticides (Lloyd, 1962; Anon., 1969; Anon., 1974). Organochlorine pesticides, used in sheep dips and as cereal dressing, tend to become concentrated in eel tissues. Those eels not killed directly become poison reservoirs for otters and other predators, which subsequently suffer from elevated levels of mortality and low breeding success (Chanin & Jefferies, 1978). Otters are at the top of the food chain, and because of their natural fat reservoirs, they are highly susceptible to the accumulation of fat soluble pesticides and other toxins. In high doses, toxins can reduce breeding success and immune system function.
By the late 1970s only 6% of sites inspected in the UK showed signs of otters and they were largely absent from the midlands and southern England (Lenton et al., 1980). Voluntary and later compulsory bans on the use of organochlorine pesticides coupled with a ban on the direct persecution of otters in the 1970s has enabled otter populations in some areas of the UK to begin to recover. However, in many areas of England farming has intensified since the late 1950s and much of the riparian vegetation that otters once used for cover has been removed. This together with increased disturbance from human activity and continued building and infrastructure developments along riversides and in floodplains has restricted the otters' recovery in the Midlands and in the south and east of the country.
The otter is currently recovering nationally with most counties in the UK seeing some regular otter activity, although breeding activity is still low in many areas. Otter populations in the South are moving South eastwards from the South West counties, and Southwards from the Thames and Kent regions."

A NARWHAL IN KENT

From KENT MESSENGER 27th January 2006. 'WHALE'S ARRIVAL CAUSED EXCITEMENT':
After the whale drama of the Thames, 56 years ago, the River Medway had a whale drama of its own. The whale involved was of a much rarer species than the northern bottlenose whale in the Thames. In October 1949, records author Bob Ogley in 'Kent - A Chronicle of the Century Vol 11', "...there was great excitement at Rectory Wharf, Wouldham, when the body of a narwhal arrived on the shore via the Medway." "It is only the second example of the species to be washed ashore in this country in 500 years." The whale's body was taken to the Natural History Museum, in London. So, what is a narwhal ? Narwhals are usually found in Arctic seas and rivers where they feed on cuttlefish, crustaceans and fish. The most unusual feature of the narwhal is that it has only two teeth in its upper jaw.