There Are NO Jaguars In The UK

 It appears that the idiots  are talking again.

On a recent You Tube video someone quoted the late (and dubious) Quentin Rose and his ludicrous population statistics re. "Big cats". Firstly, they are quoting a source who has been dead..ten years? now. And the statistics were made up for the Press and to impress people to pay him to go hunt a big cat. He never succeeded though his accountant was.

There are also a number of people making videos "to contribute to the growing evidence of big cats in Britain."  Firstly, again, only one member of the Big cat family in the UK and it's type has been here since the 19th century at least and that is the panther. Getting something black rushing through heavy bushes (it took me ten views before I saw what was being described as a large cat (NOT seen) with a very long sleek tail (NOT seen).

Filming in areas where it has been established that large black feral cats are known by locals indicates two things: 1. deliberately hoping to film one of these to claim it is the British Big cat or 2. total lack of local knowledge.

Then we have the statement from 'big cat investigators' that some of the big black cats spotted are jaguars. 

In over (well over actually) 40 years I have never had one cat reported that was a jaguar and there has never been a wild living jaguar in the UK.  This is all pure fantasy and based on people being unable to not identify a cat type but plucking names out of the air.

The Red Paper II: Felids looks at the New native species of cats and will, I hope, once and for all put an end to the silliness going on (I doubt it though).

The main four cats in the UK are panther, puma, lynx and jungle cats with others probably being more common and sparking of both puma and panther reports.

Yes, officially, panthers and pumas have been shot and "euthanised" after capture in the UK. In Felids I cite a case for which I have the witness affidavit as well as confirmation by a police wildlife crimes officer concerning a panther being caught and killed by an official vet.

The book is NOT a sensationalist or cryptozoological fantasist work but natural history written by a naturalist. Everything is referenced and I think  the big cat fans will do well to read it.