'Why it was manoeuvring at low level over West Yorkshire was a mystery,'

 

Doubt the firm will be happy with this publicity for their range....

'I'm not a "flying-saucer", or "alien visitation" freak, but whatever it was deserves the term UFO.' Mr Tunnah, originally from Scotland, then showed the perplexing snap to some of his friends 'just out of interest'. 'They all tended to agree that it was "real", "solid" and appeared to be travelling at speed from the dissipating "arch" on the horizon,' he said.

Well, there goes Yorkshire folk's legendary reputation for hard-headed down to earth common sense!

Sunday Spooky Funnies...

Makes 'Let's be careful out there' even more cheering...

"Leopards don't do this. Leopards... never had a lair like this."

"They're doing it for the pleasure..." 

It's October, fellas! Give it up - Silly Season is over.

‘It could be a rock...'

Well, yes, it most likely is. It's not really going to be a 20ft tall Bigfoot, is it? 

Quite apart from anything else, it doesn't appear to be climbing as a living creature would. What we have here is a classic case of pareidolia.

"As credible eye-witnesses, there is not a jury in the land who would doubt their testimony. "

Are you sure about that? 

Settling down to enjoy her lunch, pensioner Annie Mitchell gazed out absent-mindedly at a bird box in the garden when a large black shadow caught her eye. Convinced she had seen a strange cat ‘larger than a labrador’ roaming on old tennis courts beyond her home in Kirriemuir, Angus, the 71-year-old braved the February chill to take a closer look. ‘I felt it was bigger than any cat I have seen. I went outside to get a closer look and was only a car length away. It looked big.’

Here's the video she took and well, I can only say, if that's a 'car length' away... 

Mr Welsh, a ghillie, deerstalker and farmhand, said: ‘From the way it was moving, the tail size and that, it was slightly like a panther but it could be a crossbreed. I’ve seen them plenty of times. I’ve seen lynx, I’ve seen panthers, I’ve seen crossbreeds – they’re all over the place.’

No Loch Ness Monster? Scottish Sasquatch?

In July last year, panic gripped the villagers in Brydekirk, Dumfriesshire, amid talk of a cat the size of a labrador prowling the fields nearby. Beyond the talk, there was nothing tangible for the experts to get their teeth into until, earlier this month, some remarkable proof came to light just over the Border in Cumbria, thanks to the bloodied remains of a recently savaged sheep and a quick-thinking local. The sheep was discovered by Sharon Larkin-Snowden early one morning in October after she disturbed whatever had been eating the carcass. ‘I saw something black, running, and I assumed at first it was a sheepdog,’ she said. ‘Then I did a double take and realised it was a black cat. It ran towards a stone wall, stopped and then jumped the wall. It was big – the size of a German shepherd dog.’

Luckily, this local was equipped. No, not with the usual camera with all the photographic quality of a potato, but something else.  

Something made her take a swab of the carcass, which found its way to Professor Robin Allaby, a biologist at the University of Warwick with an interest in big cat research. He analysed the sample and discovered ‘Panthera genus’ DNA, which can only have come from a lion, leopard, tiger, jaguar or snow leopard.

Wasn't it lucky she happened to have a DNA test swab on her? When I went walking in Cumbria, all I packed was some Kendal Mint Cake!  

The astonishing breakthrough has reignited the eternal question – if there are big cats prowling the Lake District, is it too much of a leap to suppose big cats are living wild in Scotland too?

Makes my upcoming trip to Edinburgh potentially more exciting!  

Rodents Of Unusual Size

A beachgoer was shocked to spot a "giant" rodent washed up on the beach by strong winds during Storm Ciarán. Warning: Graphic images.

It's pretty big, so not sure why the 'Argus' sought to put the word in scare quotes... 

The creature was found dead on Hove beach near Rockwater after heavy rain and strong winds this morning. It is about three foot long and reminiscent of a large rat, but with large yellow teeth like a beaver.

It's not the most invasive species to rock up on beaches this year, though. And I knew what it was likely to be before it was confirmed... 

Professor Fiona Matthews, from the University of Sussex's school of life sciences, confirmed that the creature looks like a coypu, based on its tail and teeth. Brighton and Hove City Council has been approached for comment regarding its disposal.

They are probably still wondering if they have to give it a hotel room. 

"... the thorny issue of whether or not panthers, lynx and black leopards roam Scotland has been taken seriously by several official bodies."

Clearly, not official bodies who understand that panthers and black leopards are the same animal...

Researchers obtained 86 pages of correspondence and pictures under freedom of information laws from Police Scotland, the Scottish Government and NatureScot.

Oh, impeccable sources then! And yes, Reader, there are pictures. Out of focus, fuzzy pictures. That clearly show large black cats. 

None of them black leopards! Or even wild boar. 

They include tantalising reports about spates of livestock killings where sheep carcasses were stripped of meat in a way which didn’t resemble fox or bird attacks, and one officer who recorded three to four sightings of a big cat.

A wee dram or two taken, perchance..? 

...a police officer told Scottish Wildcat Action about ‘lots of reports of big cat sightings and activity on the north coast’. The officer said: ‘I was present when a ewe was brought in off the hill with two puncture marks on the front of her right shoulder and two at the back of it. The wounds were over three inches apart.’ Other carcasses had ‘very large puncture marks into bone’.

Better add 'jaguar' to the list of imaginary beasts roaming in the gloaming then... 

I Guess He'll Find Out Now!

On leaving school, he thought about becoming a vicar but joined the air force instead and trained as a pilot.

Pilot Officer Foy was commissioned in 1962 and was stationed at RAF Hornchurch. When not airborne, Robin and his fellow pilots “had a jolly time” visiting the local pubs.

Is there a better place to find spirits..? 

H/T: Dave Ward via email

There's Many Reasons Why This Is Cobblers...

...not least the fact that pumas and cougars (the same animal with different names) aren't big cats, because they can't roar. 

There's Nothing New Under The Sun...

...even cancel culture:

Dr Tucker began his academic career after serving in the Second World War as a pilot, joining the museum in 1949 as a scientific officer in the department of zoology. He rose up the ranks and became a principal scientific officer in 1957.

However, when Dr Tucker was 39, his career came to an abrupt end. In 1960, he was fired for alleged insubordination, which stunned colleagues and sparked decades of speculation over his beliefs about Loch Ness.

The newly uncovered documents, from the museum's board of trustees, reinforce the view that his dismissal was down to his belief in the creature rather than concerns about his professional behaviour.

A memo issued to staff by the board in 1959 warned: 'The trustees wish it to be known that they do not approve of the spending of official time or official leave on the so-called Loch Ness Phenomenon.' The memo added: 'If, as a result of the activities of members of the staff, the museum is involved in undesirable publicity, [the trustees] will be gravely displeased.'

And indeed, they expressed their displeasure with ferocity worthy of any prehistoric predator: 

In a newspaper cutting from the time, held in the museum's archive, he is quoted as saying: 'I put the project up to the Natural History Museum. The museum does send out expeditions to collect specimens. But they didn't like the idea of a Loch Ness expedition at all.

'They refused me leave to lecture on the subject. Since I was sacked, they have banned me from the library. I had an international reputation as a zoologist. Now I'm like a struck off lawyer.'

Poor man. These days, of course, you can believe any barmy thing you like... 

Is It 'Cos It Is Black..?

Yes, actually. That is indeed the reason this isn't anything like 'the best evidence yet'.

There has never been a documented report of a melanistic puma. Whatever this is, it won't be one.

And I Thought The Traditional British Silly Season Wouldn't Happen This Year...

...I should have known our wackademics had more fortitude than that! 

Nope!

Yes, I thought with coronavirus we could give Silly Season a miss this year but...apparently not!

Sharon Larkin-Snowden, from west Cumbria, posted the images in the Big Cats in Cumbria Facebook page which she runs to coordinate potential sightings.

Oh, we got a live one here all right!

She told the News & Star: "When I saw it, I just thought straight away 'caracal'."

Really?

Well, I suppose it is cat shaped...

For Sharon, the clarity of the images got her excited. "This has to be some of the best photographic evidence to-date," she said.

"It may not be our panther, but this is one of the smaller big cats.

"These photos are genuine.

"I'm overwhelmed by the response I got off the photos though - I only put them on my page to show other members. I never expected it to go that far."

How far? Attracting all the people telling you you're an idiot and it's just a cat, you mean?

" I taw a puddy tat as plain as he could be!"

Sally Williams and her son, Steve, were walking their dog in the grounds of St Peter’s C of E Church, in Powick, when they saw the large, black animal.

Ah. I forgot about Silly Season.

Mr Williams, from Bransford, said: “I noticed it run across the churchyard, and I thought it was a fox.

"I even said, ‘oh there’s a fox.’

A black fox? They are pretty rare! Rarer than the 'British Big Cat', even...

“Then it stopped, and I saw it was some sort of big cat.

"I would say it was about medium dog sized, like a spaniel.

“After I realised it wasn’t a fox, I started videoing.”

He added: “I was a little unnerved by it, and just a bit shocked.

“My mum was a bit scared.”

Of a cat the size of a spaniel?

“It does look like it has a collar on, so if it is something like a puma it could have escaped or been let loose from someone who owned it.”

Or...it could be a cat?

“I looked up puma and it fits the description.”

I'd like to know where you looked it up, then, as pumas are never black.

'Silly Season' Gets Later Every Year...

Police Scotland urged the public to be vigilant after a reputed sighting of the animal in fields near the B730 at 8.45 this morning.

Yeah, yeah. We've been here before.

Detectives were working with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) to locate the animal, which may be injured.

But it seems that the SSPCA found a quick way out:

The SSPCA said it had liaised with the police but had since stood down since it was unable to deal with big cats.

Or vampires, werewolves, banshees....

A police spokeswoman said: "Officers who have been investigating a number of reports of a large black cat in fields near to the B730 have been liaising with a big cat expert who does not believe that it is a black panther, however cannot yet confirm what type of animal it is."

I'll help him out here. It's a cat. And those two things in the foreground aren't pterodactyls, they're magpies.

Oh. And you're a laughing stock. But then, you're used to that...

'Silly Season' Not Over Yet...

A dog walker believes his pet may have been attacked by a puma dubbed the Beast of Buckinghamshire.

Because it's dead..?

The latest incident happened after Daisy disappeared for a short while in some undergrowth. Mr Romero, from from High Wycombe said he then heard her yelping and making high pitched noises, which made him think something wasn’t quite right, so he called her and she came out limping. 

He said: “I saw two wounds, two gashes about an inch-and-a-half and an inch wide, and about three inches long.” 

He took her to the vet straightaway to be treated.

We aren't told what his vet thinks. But we do get the opinion of another vet.

Adam Maxton, a vet at Temple End Surgery, said: “It is highly unlikely that a panther has caused that. It is more likely to be a deer with antlers.”

Looking at the wounds, yes. That, or Freddy Kruger.

Silly Season Gets Underway Early...

A big cat expert says a black panther could be prowling the Worcestershire wilderness after the grisly discovery of yet another mangled deer carcass.

A big cat expert? Which one? Boone Smith? Billy Arjan Singh?

Researcher Rick Minter, author of 'Big Cats: Facing Britain's Wild Predators'...

Oh. Damn. Him again? Well, he's not the only nutter out there.

...said photographs of the dead deer showed several of the hallmarks of a big cat having been eating the carcass.

The 54-year-old, who has been studying the presence of big cats in Britain for the last decade...

That can't have taken very long...

He argued that big cat sightings were widespread in Worcestershire and were often reported to him at country shows where he performed outreach work.

Is that what he calls it on his tax returns?

However, even the experts do not agree. Bob Lawrence, head of public relations and development at West Midland Safari and Leisure Park, does not believe a leopard was responsible and has visited the site of the kills.

He said: "I visited the Roe deer burial site today. The original Roe buck is largely eaten away but there is also a Roe doe dead close by, probably his companion as they tend to live in pairs/trios.

"There is no evidence to suggest neck injuries consistent with strangulation (the leopards preferred choice of killing) or a broken neck.

"Both carcasses to me clearly seem to originate from the roadside and have been dumped over the hedge probably out of sensitivity and one at least had been there a while as the grass underneath was turning yellow.

"There are clear tramlines to show how both have been dragged into the field (by badgers I suspect as there are badger runs nearby) where they have been eaten - a fox has joined in by the smell of it."

Back to the drawing board, Minter.

I Think You'll Find They Are Spotted Everywhere...

...and not just in Malvern.

Last Call For 'Silly Season'!

Terrified mum Leah Doney has told of how she grabbed a pair of toddlers she believed were being stalked by a big cat.

"They were out of my sight for 30 seconds and my son Marley ran back around the corner and said "Quick mum, there's a big black cat", she said.

"He was really frightened. "I thought at first he was being silly but then I could see, he was frightened to death.

"The cat was about 15 metres away, down low, flicking its tail and looking at the children.

"When I walked towards them, it stopped moving and it just stared at me. I literally grabbed them and did not look back."

She said Shyne and his friend, both aged three, didn't see the cat but she and six-year-old Marley Stocks both believe they saw the big cat off Oak Drive in Rodborough at around 3pm.

‘Marley’..? ‘Shyne’..? I think a potential maneater on the loose is by far the least frightening thing about this story…

Not that the police are taking it very seriously:

She called police, who said anyone who sees what they believe is a big cat to call the non-emergency number, 101.

*chuckles*

Leah, 25, from Whiteshill, was visiting her mum Cath Brown's house in Oak Drive and neighbours raced out to try to capture it on camera. They were unable to, but Gloucestershire big cat tracker Frank Tunbridge, who Mrs Brown contacted, said the dry weather may have drawn the cat to a stream nearby where deer drink.

"It may have been laying up in that area to keep cool, and might have been curious," he said.

"We have to take this seriously – this behaviour has not been seen before."

What, your constant attention seeking? Oh, we’ve seen that before…

Gloucestershire big cat author Rick Minter said deer fencing and scrub clearance could be sensible steps to take.

"Although scrub has great wildlife value it might help people's peace of mind if the area is more visible and there is less cover in that particular spot," he said.

"Those are the sort of practical measures which happen overseas."

Well, yes. Because overseas, they are needed. Not so in Gloucestershire.

”… it is understood no panthers had been reported missing in the area.”

A terrified New Cross woman says she "freaked out" after seeing a panther in the street.

The woman, who was on her way to work at the time, fled back to her house and called police after seeing the beast in Southern Gateway, a residential area near Fordham Park and Deptford Green School.

But when police arrived to investigate, there was no sign of the wild animal and it is understood no panthers had been reported missing in the area.

SNORK!

Of course, she wasn't going to leave it at that, was she? Who you gonna call?

The woman also contacted expert Neil Arnold who runs Kent Big Cat Research and has been tracking sightings across the south east.

Oh dear...

"I am disappointed that I wasn't taken more seriously by the local police who asked me almost straight away if I had been drinking when I first reported it. "

*chuckles*

Mr Arnold said he was hoping to get more information on the sighting and that he was surprised nobody else had seen it in such a densely populated area.

He said: "It's interesting regarding that area because I do get sightings from Sydenham and Bromley. But New Cross, not far from the station - I just don't know why it would be there."

Catching a train, maybe? If it's good enough for pigeons...