Cryptozoology - one of my strongest passions throughout my teenage years, and still something I find very interesting now.
What you saw sounds very interesting Tobi - judging by the way you described it, if there are indeed big cats in Britain, I would definitely say that is probably what that was. If it was a type of big cat, I agree that it probably wouldn't have even considered going near a human unless if felt threatened, so you were right to keep Misty away - just incase it felt scared and tried to defend itself.
My mum had a sighting, about 18 years ago now, in our back garden where we used to live (greater London).
It was around 1997. I was only about 7 years old at the time, but I remember my mum telling us about it very well, and she still mentions it and recites it to this day.
I think it was August, and it was a nice warm night. it wasn't too late, but it was completely dark outside so it must have been about 10pm. My mum had put me and my sister to bed, and she went out into the garden to water the grass .... my mum always used to prefer watering the garden after dark in the summer, I think she used to find it therapeutic and relaxing doing it at night. We didn't have a big garden, it was about 30ft long, so wherever she was standing at the time, she never felt as though she was too far away from the house.
She said that one night, she heard a noise, like something crashing up against one of our garden fences. She looked up, and saw something that appeared to be pure black in colour, standing on fence. It was about the same size as our dog we had back then (our dog was the same size as a border collie), but it started to walk along the fence - like a cat. After a few moments, it lept down into one of our neighbours garden's.
My mum got a bit spooked by the whole thing. She made sure that our dog Sherry was still inside the house, and she asked my dad to come outside and stand with her while she finished watering the grass. She did turn the garden light on to finish that night.
She made my dad stand outside with her while she watered the grass every night for about 3 weeks after that night.
What she saw had the ability to leap up onto a 6ft high fence, and walk across the fence elegantly as a feline would, and appeared to be pure black - but it was big, the size of a border collie dog.
What my mum saw really confused her - because back then in the 90's, she hadn't even heard the theories that their might be big cats wild in Britain, she had never heard of anyone else in the UK seeing anything like that.
There is of course the possibility that what my mum saw was a large fox, which simply appeared to look black because it was so dark outside. But I have suggested this to her, and though she says it may be possible, she doesn't think it's likely that it was a fox, as it seemed too big to be a fox, and the shape of it's body and the way it moved just seemed too cat-like to her.
There are several different theories about how big cats could have ended up here. The most popular theory - is that the big cats sighted here in the UK are offspring of animals which were illegally set free into the wild in the 1970's. Up until the mid 70's - people in the UK could legally keep big cats as pets and were not required to meet any particular standards as to how they were kept/taken care of.
In 1976, the "dangerous wild animals act" was made. This meant that if a person wanted to own a big cat in the UK, they would have to meet certain criteria to provide a suitable home for the cat, and the owner would have to follow certain guidelines to provide adequate care for their pet. Many people could not meet the new legal standards required to legally keep their big cats. As a result, many big cat owners gave their pets away to zoos, or sadly, had them put them down. Those who were not able to find their pet new homes or who could not bring themselves to have their animals put down, released them into the wild illegally.
I'm definitely open-minded about the idea of big cats surviving in the UK, it's something that I have always found very interesting. Thanks for the link Tobi - I will definitely have to take a look at that documentary sometime.
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What you saw sounds very interesting Tobi - judging by the way you described it, if there are indeed big cats in Britain, I would definitely say that is probably what that was. If it was a type of big cat, I agree that it probably wouldn't have even considered going near a human unless if felt threatened, so you were right to keep Misty away - just incase it felt scared and tried to defend itself.
My mum had a sighting, about 18 years ago now, in our back garden where we used to live (greater London).
It was around 1997. I was only about 7 years old at the time, but I remember my mum telling us about it very well, and she still mentions it and recites it to this day.
I think it was August, and it was a nice warm night. it wasn't too late, but it was completely dark outside so it must have been about 10pm. My mum had put me and my sister to bed, and she went out into the garden to water the grass .... my mum always used to prefer watering the garden after dark in the summer, I think she used to find it therapeutic and relaxing doing it at night. We didn't have a big garden, it was about 30ft long, so wherever she was standing at the time, she never felt as though she was too far away from the house.
She said that one night, she heard a noise, like something crashing up against one of our garden fences. She looked up, and saw something that appeared to be pure black in colour, standing on fence. It was about the same size as our dog we had back then (our dog was the same size as a border collie), but it started to walk along the fence - like a cat. After a few moments, it lept down into one of our neighbours garden's.
My mum got a bit spooked by the whole thing. She made sure that our dog Sherry was still inside the house, and she asked my dad to come outside and stand with her while she finished watering the grass. She did turn the garden light on to finish that night.
She made my dad stand outside with her while she watered the grass every night for about 3 weeks after that night.What she saw had the ability to leap up onto a 6ft high fence, and walk across the fence elegantly as a feline would, and appeared to be pure black - but it was big, the size of a border collie dog.
What my mum saw really confused her - because back then in the 90's, she hadn't even heard the theories that their might be big cats wild in Britain, she had never heard of anyone else in the UK seeing anything like that.
There is of course the possibility that what my mum saw was a large fox, which simply appeared to look black because it was so dark outside. But I have suggested this to her, and though she says it may be possible, she doesn't think it's likely that it was a fox, as it seemed too big to be a fox, and the shape of it's body and the way it moved just seemed too cat-like to her.
Catherine Wrote:I wonder what it is. It seems clear that there is something out there. Is it an escaped big cat or is it a hold over from a more ancient time.
There are several different theories about how big cats could have ended up here. The most popular theory - is that the big cats sighted here in the UK are offspring of animals which were illegally set free into the wild in the 1970's. Up until the mid 70's - people in the UK could legally keep big cats as pets and were not required to meet any particular standards as to how they were kept/taken care of.
In 1976, the "dangerous wild animals act" was made. This meant that if a person wanted to own a big cat in the UK, they would have to meet certain criteria to provide a suitable home for the cat, and the owner would have to follow certain guidelines to provide adequate care for their pet. Many people could not meet the new legal standards required to legally keep their big cats. As a result, many big cat owners gave their pets away to zoos, or sadly, had them put them down. Those who were not able to find their pet new homes or who could not bring themselves to have their animals put down, released them into the wild illegally.
I'm definitely open-minded about the idea of big cats surviving in the UK, it's something that I have always found very interesting. Thanks for the link Tobi - I will definitely have to take a look at that documentary sometime.
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"And ye harm none, do what ye will" ~ Wiccan Rede
