Large cat ?

[tamborine]

Have seen a large cat twice now; its sandy colored & panther size ? It was sat upright then crouched with wagging tail when it eyes me, it slinked off thru brambles easily.

There were lots of wild rabbits in the area but now there are none visible. My dog freezes in fear with hackles up.....surely not a panther ?

[mccfluff]

lion :-p

[daisya]

I always thought panthers were black?

[gen2]

Some are pink daisy.

[craft1948]

Was this in Lidl or Aldi?

[daisya]

Oh yes gen lol.

[daisya]

There have been many sightings of large cats as in wild animals not the domesticated kind, so I guess it could be feasible that someone has had one as a pet and couldn't keep it any longer and let it go....guess most things are possible nowadays (except striking a match on a jelly as far as I know).

[tamborine]

We did have Windsor safari park but eons ago. Have told cops & they want photos, I aint gonna risk getting close :(

[tamborine]

you got it craft....will get some lidl's cat food for it.

[237SJ]

Most panthers are black but some are a sandy colour. I`ve seen a black panther near the village where I come from. It ran off when it saw me though. My dad came face to face with it. I`ve got a photograph of the tree where it scratches it`s claws. I sent it to one of those websites that asks for sightings info but they didn`t bother to reply. All the villagers that have seen the cat have kept fairly quiet about it because we don`t want someone going down there with a shotgun.

[DTCwordfan]

By chance, I saw one yesterday - driving into Truro, on the lane, 2ft to 2ft six high, three to four feet long, long thin tail, all fawn or leafy coloured, loping down the road, like a feline. Didn't get to see its head as it turned very quickly (sighting was only a few secs) and jumped into the undergrowth.

Long and short of it was, on advice from a nearby Llama farmer who I warned re her young, I called Newquay Zoo later and someone there who is plotting cat reports. He thought it likely to be a Puma.

There are several thought to be back when the Labour Govt tightened up on big cat/wild animals being kept at home. Many irresponsibles just cast them loose rather than own up - or rather and typically a Labour balls-up, they didnt have an amnesty, hence why the cats are out there.

There have been a number of sightings a few miles away but they can travel fifteen to twenty miles a day. They tend to live off small animals like rabbits, squirrels etc. and there is a substantial acreage of woodland nearby to give it cover.

The idea that they go around slaughtering lambs is a myth - they kill and drag their prey off into the undergrowth or bury it - and will eat it all before they move on.

Now if you go and walk the area, the zoo would be really interested if you found any of their spoor (turds) as this can be DNAed and give proof.....

[tamborine]

daisya - that's wot the cops said. Lots of affluent peeps on the Thames.

[Ratty2E]

A Puma or Lynx perhaps? There are said to be wild cats living in various parts of the country. Panther is just a name for a leopard or jaguar it's not a specific breed of it's own. Black Panthers are actually leopards if you see one close up you can actually see the spots.

[DTCwordfan]

Or was it Lady Janine or Pixi (they live in Cornwall) or another AB feline female who is visiting the county out on the prowl?

[237SJ]

DT - wouldn`t they be Cougars though?

[carmalee]

what has always interested me is that people track game over vast distances and time when hunting to survive. Yet, to my knowledge there has never been any scat (droppings) found, conclusive footprints or skeletons. For the cats to survive there would also have to be viable breeding numbers. These animals have been 'sighted' for many, many years so either they are all very geriatric, they are breeding or they are a figment of people' highly developed imagination. Have often wondered why a professional tracker isn't brought in to find the beastie.

[237SJ]

My sighting was definitely not a figment of my imagination. There were bones found on Bodmin Moor one time which caused a lot of excitement and I couldn`t help but smile when they turned out to be a hoax.

[DTCwordfan]

Lady Janine and Pixi, perhaps.

the Newquay guy said from my report, 95% a puma.......

[tigerlelly]

Mastiffs are very cat-like from a distance as they have long tails and can be sandy, black or gunmetal in colour. A few years ago there was a reporting of several black 'cats' together on Dartmoor I think it was and it turned out to be some bloke walking his Neopolitan mastiffs.