Moving Home Might Not Help and Building A Picture of Regular Activity

 I was reminded by my old Day Books about a woman who was living in the counttryside in the north of England and while out walking her dog on a dark evening stopped to let a car go by and as it did so the headlights illuminated a very large black cat sat on a wall she usually walked past.

"I don't mean a big domestic either -this thing was bigger than my dog which is on the larger size of medium dogs!" During daylight the lady, who the police checked on and told me she was known as a straight forward sensible type, checked the area in question and there was no doubt that it was large and from her description likely a leopard.

A few days later I was asked to contact the lady who had seen the same or similar cat nearer to her home. Where she lived she considered her "dream property" but the cat had shaken her. A third sighting and that was it. She discovered how wide spreadreports were and if she moved anywhere in England there might be a large cat.  Apparently she had never taken "silly cat" stories seriously and her whole world view had been shattered that these cats were living in England.

Eventually the lady moved to Ireland and a nice country area that she was enjoying. Until... one evening I got a phone call "Do these bloody things follow you?!" she asked. I told her that she might have seen some other animal and her memories of the cat in England made up the rest. It seems that she had been with a new neighbour in fairly good and close up viewing conditions so the likelihood of a mistake was very low. The neighbourt told her the cat was seen occasionally by locals.

Not sure whether she moved again or simply accepted the fact that the cats were around. 

I do recall another series of sightings in Nottinghamshire when a land owner told me that she ran the land as a wildlife reserve and had several times sighted a "very big" black cat casually moving through. It had never shown any aggression but she was concerned as she had volunteer workers and had no idea what to tell them. We corresponded by mail and spoke a couple times by phone

About a month later I received a phone call and had to convince the caller that all information was private. Assured, he started telling me about a little nature reserve he helped maintain and that the woman who ran it lived on site and he was worried as he had seen a huge black cat moving through one day. It was the same woman I had been in touch with so got them to both chat to each other!

Probably the oddest coincidence that helped confirm reports from one area in Wiltshire started after a local newspaper gave out my phone number. 

A woman who was a teacher in the area told me about the fact that her village was supposed to have had 2big cat" sightings. She said that she felt silly telling me as she was not really a believer in urban legends but thought the info might be useful to me.

A couple of days later I had another phone call from a man who did not want me laughing at him but he wanted to just let me know that he was driving into the village and slowed down as "there's this nutty old lady lives in the farmhouse at a turning and she often walks about with an old pitchfork"  The man described his cat in detail as it just slowly sauntered across the road in the evening sunlight. A puma.

I never let on that I had already had someone tyell me about sightings in the area as the information was confidential.  I did tell him that someone in the past had reported seeing a similar cat and that was it.

A week later a much older woman with a very strong Wiltshire accent contacted me after her son urged her to as he thought she needed to confide in an "expert".  She told me how she had spotted two very large cats in a water trench by hedges one day but dismissed it as foxes or badgers. One day she had to go into the village and as she lived on the corner by a turning she just slowed slightly in case there was a car coming. At the same time a very large cat, very well described puma, turned the corner. "She both just stared at each other for a minute and we both turned and ran in opposite directions!"

I was suddenly putting two and two together when she explained that it had scared her so much that when she left the farm she always carried a pitchfork with her -"everyone thinks I'm off me head and I never told them about the cat!"

I checked older eports and the area is known(but never publicised) for cat activity and those reports are all consistent with a puma.  There is no open chat about the cats just "everyone knows they are here". The teacher had mentioned an "odd old farm lady" and the motorist mentionedthe lady walking about with the pitchfork and I then got to find out who the lady was.

I noted in Red Paper Felids and the 2025 New Native Species how I was surprised to learn that some villages in England had histories of puma reports going back to the 1920s and how grandparents had warned their children who then grew up and warned their own children about the cats and what to do if they saw one. All of this going unpublicised because you never ran off to newspapers to "tell tales" back then.

They Hunted The Beast of Exmoor. Years Later They Encountered A "Black Beast"

 

As with most "fringe" subjects exaggeration and fantasy can merge to create a far "sexier" to entertain while pretending to be serious. I dealt with the Royal Marines and Beast of Exmoor in a previous post https://exoticanimalsregister.blogspot.com/2023/11/did-royal-marines-shoot-beast-of-exmoor.html

There is a fact that no one really knows about and that is two of thoses RMCs later in civilian life had encounters with large cats.  All their details are on file and it was independemntly confirmed by the police forces involved that the men were former military. In fact, in my conversations with each I dropped in a seemingly casual question but only the men involved  would know the answer. Both men lived in different parts of the country, both had security jobs and neither had spoken since leaving the service.

Account 1

"Jim" was a security guard and one of his duties was checking the various buildings and premises. Entry to the one involved was a large, locked gate. Early in the morning Jim was near the gateway when he heard an unusual noise and from talking to him I could confirm that it was the "sawing noise" people report in leopard sightings. It was misty as he tried to see what was making the noise and then he saw it: the description matched a black leopard perfectly and it was slowly walking toward him.

It seems that Jim was puzzled slightly as he had been told "the Beast" on Exmoor, etc, was a puma. But pretty soon he broke out into a cold sweat as the reality of the situation hit him. He was unarmed, alone and a l;eopard was moving toward him staring.  He contemplated turning and trying to climb over the tall gatebut his decision not to was a good one. In the wild you run from a predator you are prey.

As Jim contemplated the irony of having been involved in the cat hunt years before (it was then 1997) and being killed by one the cat simply turned to one side and moved off.  Jim got back into the building after making sure bhe was not turning his back on the cat and he was shocked by his close call and told me that "I went straight to the toilets. I thought I'd shat myself!" he was joking of course but it was to hide the fact that the encounter had scared him. "From that day on I carry a club hammer with me at night!" (a club hammer is basically a mini sledgehammer).

Around the same period "John" contacted me as police had suggested he let me know what he had seen. John was in security and specialised in canine use and on the night in question he was parked up in countryside to exercise the two German Shepherds who he told me were "fearless". John closed the van doors as the dogs started walking when they stopped as a sound like something falling from a nearby tree was heard.  

Using his torch, John saw that the dogs had fixed gaze on something near a tree and so he checked. Under the tree was a very large black cat that looked about the size of his dogs. Sensibly he recalled the dogs and he locked them back in the van. The cat had moved off but the size and appearance had shocked him. He decided that the area was not suitable for night time dog exercising but he did note that he had always thought these cats were silent when they moved "the one on Exmoor was". 

That last line is what I queried and he told me he had been one of the RMCs on Exmoor (confirmed later) and that this late night incident gave him the chills thinking something that big could have been walking around them in the dark while they had no live rounds.

Interesting that neither man had believed there were really any big cats around and were rather jokey at the time they were on Exmoor.  After their close up sightings both were firm believers. I should note that both men gave details of the aniomals they saw that do not usually get mentioned in standard reports which added some weight to the reports.

The Corsican Cat-Fox

  In a 2000 paper I noted the anecdotal evidence for the existence of the cat and it took a couple decades but everyone finally caught up with me 😄

Now, I do not wish to be pedantic but the cat in the image used is a hybrid European wild cat and not the type found.   I should note that the fox is known as "the cat-like canid" so you work it out!

CORSE: THE MYSTERIOUS "CHAT-RENARD" (fox-cat) WAS REALLY THERE

For a long time, it belonged mainly to the stories of Corsican shepherds. A strange wild cat, discreet, living in the remote areas of the island and nicknamed "ghjattu-volpe".

A creature almost legendary... until scientists started to take a serious interest.

A particularly discreet cat

The ghjattu-volpe resembles at first glance a large domestic cat. But the individuals studied present several remarkable features: a fairly robust silhouette, a thick coat, stripes on the legs and above all a long annelated tail ending with a black tip.

Some specimens have been studied in the north of Corsica by agents of the French Office of Biodiversity.

And genetics has revealed a surprise

A genetic study published in 2023 showed that the studied Corsican wild cats form a particular genetic lineage, different from domestic cats and European forest cats.

Researchers have also observed a proximity with the wild populations of Sardinia.

However, one must remain cautious: contrary to what some titles may suggest, science has not yet definitively established that the ghjattu-volpe is a new species of cat.

Its exact taxonomic status and its links with the African wild cat (Felis lybica) continue to be studied.

When a local story leads to a real discovery

It may finally be the most fascinating.

Long before DNA analysis, the inhabitants and shepherds of Corsica were already talking about this mysterious wild cat living in the maquis.

In this case, behind what could have seemed like a simple local legend, there was indeed a real and scientifically remarkable animal population.

And that's also what cryptozoology is when it's approached seriously: listening to testimonies, looking for clues... and then letting science determine what's really behind the stories.

How many animals described by the local populations are still to be identified somewhere in the world?

A Puma in Gevaudan, France?

 I was aware of old reports from France of large cats as I was contcted by journalists at the time.

A PUMA IN THE GÉVAUDAN? A VERY REAL INVESTIGATION

Could a puma live wild in the heart of France?

The story could resemble a new legend of the Gévaudan. Yet, behind this case lies a real investigation conducted over several years by wildlife photographer Bruno Loisel.

Since 2014, he has been interested in reports of a large feline spotted between the Haute-Loire, the Cantal, and the Lozère. Some reports date back to 2011 and 2012.

His research led to the documentary "Puma, the ghost of the Gévaudan," produced with Samuel Ruffier and aired on ARTE in 2019.

TESTIMONIES AND TRACES

During his investigation, Bruno Loisel collected 28 testimonies, of which he considered 21 to be sufficiently reliable.

But he did not rely solely on these accounts.

Fingerprints attributed to a large feline were discovered. Claws were also observed on a tree in the Margeride, about 1.80 m above the ground. According to the specialists consulted for the investigation, some of these traces were compatible with those of a puma.

Bruno Loisel is well-versed in the animal: he spent more than twenty years working in Latin America and explains that he himself had only seen pumas eight times during this period. The feline is indeed extremely secretive.

BUT WHERE IS THE PHOTO?

This is where the case becomes particularly interesting.

Despite automatic cameras, field research, and devices intended to attract the animal, the 2019 documentary provides no photographic evidence to establish with certainty the presence of a wild puma in the Gévaudan.

Bruno Loisel, however, was convinced of his presence and even considered the possibility of several individuals.

HOW COULD A PUMA HAVE ARRIVED IN FRANCE?

The puma (Puma concolor) is naturally present on the American continent. A wild European population could not have simply gone unnoticed for so long.

One of the advanced hypotheses is much simpler: an animal kept in captivity could have escaped or been deliberately released.

This has already happened in Europe with different exotic felines.

AND THE STORY HAS NOT STOPPED IN 2019...

Even more interesting: several years after the documentary, Bruno Loisel was still pursuing his research.

In 2023, he told Progrès that he now had cat images and stated that he had collected 57 testimonies, two of which date back to July 2022.

However, he had not yet shared these photographs with the newspaper, explaining that he was working on a new documentary.

We are therefore faced with a rather fascinating situation:

dozens of testimonies, traces considered to be compatible with a puma and several years of investigation... but still no public and irrefutable evidence to definitively close the case.

So, is a large cat really moving in the shadows in the forests of the Massif central?

For Bruno Loisel, the answer is yes.

For science, however, the case remains to be proven.

And that is precisely what makes the "Gévaudan ghost" so interesting.

If You Are Just Playing, Fine. If You Are Serious -Publish and Share

 

As a follow up to the last post I need to rteport the following: not one single British "big cat" group has been willing to share any of its allehed evidence or reports for checking. Oh, yes, they will be "willing" to see all the data I have but that is it.

I worked (and occasionally still do) work with UK police forces since 1977 and how many of the hundreds of people I spoke to have I ever publicly named? ZERO. I worked under the Public Records Act and even more tougher was my own word.  The excuse "We can't share because we promised confidentiality" is now well beyond weak as an excuse.

Did you promise plaster casts of tracks confidentiality?

Did you promise "animals evidently killed by a big cat" confidentiality?

WHERE is the evidence that these peopler claim to have?  The EAR gathered information from experts (see New Native Species book) and we had DNA results from labs police sent samples to. A new documentary reveals big cat DNA evidence for the first time?  Well, I emailed and asked whether it was possible to get a copy of the results? Silence.  Asked again: silence. A third time -silence.I and the EAR are quite open about the data gathered and it was all done without seeking media publicity or going around posing in all balck or cammo combat gear.

I suspect, based on what these groups appear to accept online, that their data is not strong and has false data (ie domestic cats, dogs etc) mixed in with iyt. A map showing a country completely covered in dots indicating these cats (leopards and pumas) aree everywhere is pointless unless it is to excite journalists? Where are the indicators that cats have been identified and their territory at least partially outlined? Five panthers or pumas could cover the UK in their meandering territories. There are NOT "hundreds" of "big cats" in the UK. 

The fact that groups allow negativity and name callng when you present accurate, checked data tells a lot. A bit like UFO  and paranormal groups facts do not matter. It is the fun of being "the experts" or "the body studying big cats" that seems to matter. 

Fisrt, if they were serious they would drop the "big cat" tag. Only one member of the Big cat family has been proven to be here: the leopard/panther.  The puma is NOT a big cat but a member of the medium sized cat family. Lynx are not big cats. Jungle cats (for which we have the bodies) are not big cats. And the Golden cat?

Let's put it this way:

Data on fox study and research -shared

Data on badger study and research -shared

Data on wild cat (large and small) research -shared

Data on primate research -shared

Data on amphian research -shared

Even information and data on of all things Bigfoot is shared.

But in the UK there is no presentation of reports or data/field studies published like the EAR did from 1977 onward. WHY?

We Had The Answers 20+ Years Ago and No Funding

Back in the 1970s (yes, I did have hair) when I started up the work on a number of prjects including the Exotic Animals Register (EAR) was I thinking of making money?

No.

I was a young naturalist and my interest was specifically mammals although I had to branch out to various other species/ I wanted to put the silly claims that there were large cats -lynx, puma and panther- in the UK. That was 1977. By 1980s I realised that it was not all tall stories and hoaxes. How did I go about checking a report made? 

Firstly, I listened and took notes of what the person was telling me but I also had a map in front of me on which I, obviously, mapped sightings.  I checked the local geography and then I would ask questions -often for 40 minutes to one hour. There was a list of questions and each one added something more to the report. I am quite sure that most of the witnesses thought they were being grilled by the police (most of the reports came through police channels).

By 1997 I was transferring all the map sightings to a 1997 Collins Road Atlas of Britain with colours denoting what cat type was sighted. This meant that it became very clear that there were territories and answered a lot of questions which, in 2026, "Big Cat" groups in the UK are asking. And if you are still asking certain questions after 5-10 years then you are not looking at the data. That said I am glad that unlike most of these groups I am not adding domestic cats or exotic pet breeds to the record as that means the data base is useless.

Around 1999 the Daily Express newspaper asked me how much I wanted for my maps and data on "where the cats are"?  I had already been tipped off that a couple newspapers had provisionally hired 'big game hunters' to track and shoot a "British Big Cat". I declined the offer and also one from The Sun which had similar intentions. Yes, I really could have done with the money to solve financial problems but it would be, potantially, blood money.

Police forces in the UK were being fleeced by one very well known "big cat hunter" and others were also over charging for basic info. I never charged a police force a single penny for advice, looking at evidence or other information.

By 2000 we had DNA as well as a lot more evidence of large cats in the UK and this was backed up by decades of historical records studying. 

If youi see someone write that "big cats" were relased during World War 1 and World War 2 and later when the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act came in then the first two are based on the data I distributed in the early days of the work and most writers, etc were simply citing the DWAA before that. Those were early days and by 2000 all of that had changed as various cats had historical records going way back before WW 1 (as outlined in Red Paper: Felids and the 2025 New Native Species book). 

The Red Paper books were supposed to be a way of financing future research but it is very telling that none of the members of  "big cat" groups or others supposedly seeking answers has purchased a copy of any of the books. In fact even mentioning one got me blocked from one group and that was from simply mentioning that a certain photo came from that. Another group approved my post mentioning the Irish wild cat and the possible British big cat and then...removed my post, took all my Top Contributor and other Face Book stuff from me. Why approve and then remove the post and insult me to the point where being on the greoup was no longer an option? Truth.

Naturalists (at least us dinosaurs and we are becoming quickly extinct) never get into the work for money. Many do today and also for the prestige of "celebrity".   It should be about seeing if there is any impact on biodiversity and educating people.  

There has NEVER been a large (non captive) cat attack on a human going back centuries. 

Cats and other former exotic animals have not had any negative impact on existing UK wildlife but all seem to fit a natural nicheleft vaant by human created extinctions. In one area I was told that predation on sickly or injured deer had created  much stronger and healthier herd. Is my information reliable? Well, point out to me a naturalist who has spent 1977-2026 looking at exotic species in the UK and we'll compare data (unlike groups who seem to want and even demand data but will not reciprocate.

We sorted the "exotic cat" in the UK question over two decades ago and it never made me rich!

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For decades there have been reports of “Big Cats” roaming the British countryside killing sheep and deer. Are all of the observers from naturalists,zoologists, zoo personnel, police and others all mistaken?

Terry Hooper-Scharf set up the Exotic Animals Register (EAR) in 1977 to disprove the claims before become a UK police forces exotic wildlife consultant and member of the Partnership Against Wildlife crime (PAWS).  What he found out was almost unbelievable but with the gathered evidence including DNA results and bone analysis it seemed that there were exotic cats in the UK and that some had been here at least going back to the early 19th century.

The presented evidence saw the Department of Environment Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) force him off the PAWS scheme despite police protests.

Now read fact and not sensationalist press or fringe claims.

 

Mystery 'big cat' captured prowling near Scottish trout fishery...It could be a "Bangle" cat

 

When people start talking outy of their backsides regarding wild cat tails the one thing it tells you is that theyu DO NOT know about true wild cats.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/general/mystery-big-cat-captured-prowling-near-scottish-trout-fishery/ar-AA2c0zqh?ctsrc=dgst&ocid=edgdhpruby&pc=U531&cvid=6aa3b622cf584c85a02dd0124780e711&cvpid=b287da8777f74dcbc399cda05fb4c361&uxmode=ruby&ei=8

 

A mystery feline captured on camera has sparked a huge online debate – with some claiming it could be a ‘big cat’.

David Duff filmed the animal from his balcony at Ledyatt Trout Fishery near Lundie, Scotland, where he has spotted it regularly for 18 months.

He described the animal as being between a ‘Labrador and a cat’, with a ‘rusty brown’ coat, black stripes and rings around the tail.

His clip, filmed at the Ledyatt Trout Fishery in Lundie, Angus, has been viewed more than a million times.

Mr Duff said many had commented the animal resembled a bangle cat, a muscular feline with a wild appearance, however he insisted it looked ‘nothing like it’.

But he said: ‘It’s not conclusive; it could be a hybrid, a wild cat.

‘It’s very hard to judge the scale and beauty of the animal from that video.’

The fishery owner added the cat was meat lover, and that he had seen it around 20 times in 18 months hunting rabbits and climbing trees.

He said he was unsure whether the ‘beautiful and massive’ cat was male or female, but that he was not surprised it had chosen to make the fishery its home.

Mr Duff added: ‘He is very elusive; he is beautiful and massive – it’s just awesome to have him here.

 

A Scottish fishery owner filmed a mysterious large feline which has made the facility its home over the last 18 months (Picture: SWNS)

 ‘The terrain here is absolutely perfect.

‘There’s loads of animals – it’s a mecca for wildlife, and it’s no surprise that this animal would make it its home.’

Experts at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) suggested the animal may have some ‘wildlife ancestry’ and could be a hybrid, given where it was spotted.

The charity said it would not be able to determine the cat’s exact identity without genetic testing or further footage.

Mr Duff said he had also spotted another mystery female on his land, this one much lighter than the one pictured in his video.

He explained: ‘It’s a magnificent area for a predator. I wouldn’t allow anything to happen to scare wildlife away. It means I am doing everything right.

‘Whether it’s a domestic cat, a cross, purebred, it’s such a buzz to think that an animal has chosen to turn Ledyatt Trout Fishery home.

‘It’s a testament to everything we do.’

The large cat sparked a fierce debate online over its identity, with some believing it to be wild while others think it is a well-fed domestic pet (Picture: SWNS)

Hundreds of online viewers debated the identity of the feline, with some speculating it could be a wild cat.

One wrote: ‘What a capture! I would say wild cat with the stripes but hard to tell with the way it extended out her or his body.”

‘Hard to tell if it’s a wild cat or not. Tail would suggest it is’, another commented.

Others were convinced that the huge cat is in fact someone’s well-fed pet.

One wrote: ‘Domestic cat, tail is wrong for wild cat.”

Another added