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| Oxfordshire Big Cats 2005 | |
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Other recommended websites: David Walker's UKBigCats site - www.ukbigcats.com Jon Downes' Cryptozoology site - www.cfz.org.uk |
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More news on the possible 'big cat', and the large
pawprint that was found. I would here like to say special thanks to David
Walker of
www.ukbigcats.com for his help and advice in investigating and
researching this pawprint.
The conclusion is, despite our initial excitement,
that in this case we are looking at, what is most likely a rear pawprint of a
large dog... |
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Another Sighting of the Same Cat? A new sighting by Brian P James: In the very early hours of Saturday 31st May, I was on my way to the East Coast (for my holiday, but to see the eclipse sunrise first thing...) driving on the B4009 from Benson towards Britwell, the road was fairly quiet (but not deserted), and I had my headlights (Xenon bulbs, with lights aimed a tad high!) on main beam, so had good light and visibility past 100m ahead. I was around 70-80m short of the bend when my lights picked up a large cat-like creature bounding (left to right from my perspective) across the road where the road bends – it was more visible than might be expected as it was fleetingly seen against the white sections of the large chevron marker boards. The long tail held out behind was quite obvious and very memorable. My headlights give a fairly crisp white light, but I accept that coloration of the ‘cat’ may be difficult to judge under such conditions, but it certainly appeared dark brown rather than the jet black of say a panther, and no markings were seen. I pulled my car across off the main road and into the minor road/track where the ‘cat’ had apparently gone, and turned off my engine, radio and lights and wound the driver’s window down so I could listen. Unfortunately two cars were approaching the bend, so the night was not as silent as I would have hoped at that moment. After a few minutes I got out of the car (believe me, I had a healthy respect for the possibility that a large cat was somewhere close!) to listen more, and then start looking round with my torch for any signs of tracks etc. I found nothing, obviously the road and track I was on wouldn’t show any pawprints, but I couldn’t find any disturbance in the grass on the verges – obviously searching like this via torchlight is not ideal. Unfortunately I couldn’t spend too long looking around, as it was my intention to be over at the east coast for the eclipse sunrise. While I was on holiday, I visited a small zoo which has three variants of leopards – snow, amur and panther – and which thankfully are close to the public (indeed some cages are designed for the human visitors to become ‘caged’ within the cat’s cages, and this includes the amur tigers as well). As it was a hot day, the big cats at the zoo were pretty lethargic, so it enabled me to get a very good and close look at the, and particularly the paws (also remembering the big cat sighting at nearby Aston Rowant a few weeks earlier, and the possible pawprint that was found). All the leopards have obviously long and quite powerful tails, and were remarkably similar to these cats – or perhaps the one cat – seen in Oxfordshire in recent weeks.
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APRA were able to visit the site the following morning. The graphic impression above is from a photo of the actual site. While nothing was seen of any large cat, investigation of the Ridgeway itself may have given a more than interesting clue. Unfortunately recent weather (we are now technically in a drought!) means that the ground was dry, and therefore recent animal tracks were unlikely to have been left. However, in one of the vehicle ruts that had been in shade for some time, some animal tracks were seen in what was mud a short time ago - though not now, even an adult human wasn't leaving an imprint. Amongst obvious deer, and probable fox imprints, there was a much larger pawprint! Photos of this print can be seen below, and its size can be gauged by the measurement marking on the walking pole that was used for reference - this pawprint is 8-10cm across and long! It is obviously not the pawprint of a dog - as there is no claw in the 'toe' (dogs cannot retract their claws). The lack of claws means the pawprint is very cat-like, as all the big cats (except the cheetah) only extend their claws when needed, and would only be seen in such imprints if the animal was in need of traction to move or manoeuvre at speed - rather like an athlete wearing spiked running shoes.
So, is this the pawprint that of a big cat - perhaps a puma or leopard? As yet we would not venture to state this was left by a big cat, but it is very cat-like, and is certainly far too big for the pawprint of a domestic cat...
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Big Cats Again The BBC South News of 30 January carried a report from Southampton of a school having to keep pupils inside school grounds at break times, as two people - including one of the teachers - reported seeing panther-like creatures in the adjoining woodland. In this case 'evidence' was found, in the form of paw prints in muddy patches in the woods - these looked distinctly canine, rather than feline. This inaccuracy over the paw prints was confirmed by a keeper from nearby Marwell Zoo, who pointed out that the paw prints clearly showed claws (cats normally have their claws retracted), and he also pointed out that the paw prints were about half the size of those of big cats at the zoo - ie those of a jaguar, panther etc. |
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The Sun of Saturday 19 October carried the report and picture of a Rover car that had allegedly been 'attacked' by a large cat, and this attack was attributed to a 'panther'. The car's owner in Knowle Gate, Shropshire, noted damage to the car that she first thought to have been caused by vandals with something like a hammer. The report isn't clear, but certainly appears to indicate that this attack occurred outside a home in an urban area. It was then that the car's owner noted the claw and bite marks in plastic and rubber trim parts of the car - door mirror and bumper; and also the front nearside wing was scratched and dented. The shocked driver called police, who examined the scene and confirmed the paw prints that suggested a large cat - and tests were being conducted on blood near the car. The police summise that this large cat - be it a panther or puma - had been trying to attack a small mammal, likely to have been the family's missing pet cat, which had taken refuge under the car. |
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During September, while on holidays and other jaunts, I did seem to keep going close to 'Big-Cat' sites! During the first week of September, while on holiday in West Somerset, the local South Wales news programmes (strangely, the North Devon/Somerset coast only seem to get South Wales TV signals!) that two 'black panthers' had been sighted in the village of Goldcliffe, on the outskirts of Newport on Tuesday 3rd September. This was taken more seriously than some big cat sightings, as two PCs had also seen the creatures. In fact the sightings were deemed serious enough to involve police helicopters with thermal imaging, and tactical firearm marksmen in the hunt for the creatures. Needless to say, as common with the vast majority of big cat sightings, no further contact was made with either of the cats. The first cat seen by PCs Jones and Warren was described as at least 2'6" high, with a 3'-4' long tail (though this in itself isn't exactly large for an alleged panther). While still searching for this cat with binoculars, 15 minutes later they then saw a second cat, but this was only "about half the size of the first". They then spotted the bigger (adult?) cat again. Other reports in the area by villagers described other sightings of panther-like animals as "two lynx-like cats" - hardly similar in appearance! The one synchronicity that was highlighted by the BBC Wales, as well as the Western Daily Press, was that this sighting occurred exactly one year after the claimed attack by a panther on schoolboy Josh Hopkins , at Trellech in Monmouthshire. While up at Corby for the Rockingham 500 during the second weekend of September, I picked up a copy of the Northamptonshire's Evening Telegraph on September 14th. On page 2 was a report of "Black panther sighted again in county". The sighting was on the Stanwick Road in Raunds on Thursday August 29th, when a young woman saw a "giant cat" sitting at the roadside at 8.30pm in the evening. It was still there 2 minutes later when the lady went back for another look, so she presumed it would have been seen by numerous other drivers using that road. The paper (of course unfortunately acronymed as the 'ET') has offered £500 to anyone who can offer proof of the existence of these big cats, as there had been more than 30 sightings over a 7 year period - which is a similar number to sightings in the Thames Valley area in the same period. Typical reports describe the cat as being about 2' high, 3' long with along swishing tail. |
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James Hill spotted a report in the Swindon Advertiser, which shows that the ‘Big Cats’ are spread across more of the ‘M4 Corridor’ area than just the Thames Valley itself. Is a panther on the prowl? According to the report, numerous finds of mauled animals has caused more claims about a ferocious mystery creature roaming near Swindon. In February 2002, a farmer at Minety reported that a large animal had killed and maimed his sheep, leaving five of them dead—the report didn’t specify just how the farmer had deduced the cause was a “large animal”. In a more recent attack, a Baydon farmer left a dead pig in his farmyard overnight, to find it had been stripped to the bone the next morning (surely this would have encouraged scavenging foxes and even rats anyway?) He reported to the police the attack had all the hallmarks of a big cat attack—but again the evidence for this assumption isn’t specified. In the period of 1991—2001 more than 40 sightings of what people have described as a large black cat have been made in villages around North Wiltshire, including Crudwell, Oaksey, Charlton, Lea, Little Somerford, Brinkworth and Dauntsey. It should be noted that this sort of frequency of sightings seems to be common in other areas where a Big Cat seems to set up a territory. A former Malmesbury WPC was quoted "I went up to a case involving a still born calf, which was dragged yards across a field and eaten. The vet called the police as he couldn't think of any animal that could do that, not even a pack of foxes.” A first-hand sighting at Long Charlton in late 1996 does back up the idea of a Big Cat being in the area. They were driving along and saw a huge black cat in the road, so they stopped. It was the biggest cat they had ever seen. Terry Hooper, who runs the Bristol-based Exotic Animals Register was quoted "They are almost definitely big cats such as panthers and lynxes. "The police have been taking the reports of these animals very seriously, and have logged at least 30 sightings. We know panthers have been in the Wiltshire area as we have done DNA tests on their hair and droppings which confirm this. "We have had recent reports of baby lynxes in the Pewsey area. Until 1976 there was no legislation to regulate the keeping of large animals, so after this people who kept private zoos and menageries just let them go. Recent sightings of these animals are probably sixth or seventh generation." Perhaps we should take some consolation in that Terry (who has been logging And studying big cat sightings since 1975), believes they present no risk to human life. "If someone confronts one they should simply walk slowly backwards, but the animal will probably run off anyway. You should not panic and run away screaming, as this is what their prey would do and they would be bound to attack." The Swindon Advertiser is keen to hear of further Big Cat reports (as are we at APRA!) - you can call the Advertiser newsdesk on Swindon 528144 Anyone who sees a big mystery cat can also call Terry Hooper on 0117 902 4807. |
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The Thames Valley area of the UK does seem to have its fair share of ‘Alien Big Cats’ (ABC’s). Unfortunately the Fortean Times have not included clippings that we have sent to them for their annual ABC Survey. I Over the past few years, Oxfordshire has been the apparent home to a number of puma, leopard or panther-like cats, over most of the county. A dead large ‘wildcat’ was discovered at East Hagbourne, near Didcot in 1998.
Even
the March 2000 issue of The Field (not a publication that I would normally even
look at), carried a cover picture of a panther, to accompany a serious article
on Big Cats in the British countryside. One researcher - Quentin Rose,
estimates that there over 100 leopards and pumas living wild in Britain.
Perhaps the lack of big predators in this country, since the unfortunate
extinction of the wolf, have left a niche in the ecology where these big cats
can thrive? The article made one very interesting point as to whether big
cats could go unnoticed. It gave the case of a zoo transporter that
crashed in Johannesburg, from which a single leopard escaped.
Understandably the zoo and local authorities thought it would be wise to
recapture the animal, and so set up traps around the city - on the first night
they captured seven leopards! Another strange creature to have been seen on several occasions was a ‘bear’, seen by numerous witnesses in and around Wytham Woods, near Oxford. Although this case may have some amusing and bizarre ‘legalities’. Under a European law, if the creature was found to actually exist, then the local authorities would have to provide the bear with a ‘mate’, presumably only if it didn't have one in the first place! In the mid-1980s, Oxfordshire has also had its fair share of reports of Wallabies, particularly close to the Thames around Wallingford. One of these was confirmed at Crowmarsh, near Wallingford, after a resident buried a drowned wallaby he found in his swimming pool on his return from holiday – as you do. It was three days before he thought it might be an idea to tell the police - just in case anyone had lost one! Not sure if a Centaur is strictly an 'OOPC'? However, during 1996 there was a report from RAF Upper Heyford (by then in use as a car store, prior to shipping to dealers). During a night-time patrol by a security guard, he heard horses hooves, apparently galloping. Needless to say there should not have been any horses in the fenced-off area. The guard was using his torch, and rounded a corner of a building, and his torchbeam shone on an unusual sight - a full sized centaur, right out of Greek mythology. The only 'incorrect' feature was that the centaur had human hands and feet on the end of its horses limbs. How did it make a galloping sound of horses hooves? The guard, somewhat spooked, ran away from the scene. As far as we know the centaur has not been seen since... An interesting aspect on the whole 'Out of Place Creature' (OOPC) scenario is in getting local authorities to take the possible danger seriously, but then again, do they want to frighten the populace? Would anyone go out for walks in the country, just in case? It is worth remembering that another escapee - wild boar, are now becoming established in south east England, and they are being perceived as a possible threat, and are acknowledged as such by the relevant authorities. Any reports and/or clippings of any Out-of-Place Creatures are always welcome. |
On
Monday 24th March we received a phonecall today from "MT",
who had been travelling on the Oxford Tube bus service along the M40
just after 6.30am that morning. As the bus was approaching the
cutting at Lewknor, MT noticed a large feline-looking creature
crossing the Ridgeway and into the field below the nature reserve at
Beacon Hill. The creature was large, dark, and displayed very
feline characteristics - long tail, general walking gait etc.
MT described the cat as being very similar to the logo of the Puma sportswear
company.
