ABOUT FACTS NET Strange

At first the idea seemed a little unbelievable, or at least just an odd happening. I received a report of a big cat, or should I say large wild cat, living and eating near a populated area, in of all places, England. Now England is not exactly like the western area of the United States where things like Bobcats are quite common. So I decided to look into it. I found out that sightings of big cats in England are not as uncommon as I thought and they have been going on for quite a long time. It seems that folks have been finding large animals lying dead with their throats ripped out and partially, or entirely, eaten. This is a sure sign that a large animal is on the prowl. I found an article that spoke of a woman who found a horse lying dead and in this condition. She didn't actually see what caused this but many have reported seeing fleeting glances of big cats. Some say the latest cat sighting is that of a Puma.

The question that rattled around in my head was, how does a big cat get to England? Is there a small population of cats that live in the English countryside and manage to stay away from humans? This seems possible, because as we all know, nature does strange things. How long could they have existed like this? If they do exist this way, they could have been around quite a long time because as you go back further in years, the population of the area was even less, giving cats more room to roam around. Large wild cats seem to show up quite often in the British Isles and not always in England. Paisley in Scotland, a town of about 74,000 + people has just reported a large cat sighting. If Paisley was in the United States it would be considered a small city, it is surprising that a cat would be seen there. They often have foxes that run through the town.

The latest report of a big cat in England speaks of a black Puma. This may be a little confusing because a Puma is usually tawny or brownish yellow. It is an American cat that is found from Canada to Patagonia. It usually lives in mountainous areas. It is also known as a Cougar or panther. It is about the same size as the African Panther. So is this cat a Puma? Probably not, it is more likely an African Black Panther. Let me state for the record that there is actually no such thing as a Black Panther, this term is used to describe large cats such as Leopards or Jaguars with Melanistic coloration, which means very dark fur and hair.

According to reports, the cat was spotted (this is not a pun) in a place called Ripley, this year, and took a couple of months to reach the area around Ilkeston. The report also states that the cat has been doing this for over 10 years and at the point when he reaches Ilkeston, he then vanishes until the cycle begins again the next year. Several sheep have been found in the area that have been stripped down to their bones. Large paw prints have also been found around their bodies. The report states that there is a good chance that the point of origin is an area known as Crich. The footprint that was found has yet to be identified. I am no expert on cat footprints but this print seems to show only four toes and two rear pads, indicating that the cat could be a mountain lion. If the footprint is smeared than it could possibly be a Bobcat which also has four toes but the pad on the back of the paw is one solid pad not two as it seems to be in the photo.

A huge black cat has been reported in this area on several other occasions. It is amazing that it seems to stay out of the way of people. On June 8, 2005 there were three different sightings reported to the police in Derbyshire. The cat certainly isn't hiding but it seems to know how to stay out of man's way. Could it have been that it escaped some time in the past from a circus or zoo? There has been a tradition of large black dogs in British history. Could this be true and could some very large dog be causing the carnage? Interestingly enough, dogs have four toes on each foot as does the print. There are some people that believe a prehistoric race of cats exist in Britain and lived there undetected for the most part for thousands of years, sort of the Big Foot of the cat family. Are they right or is this just a cat that found it's way to freedom? Maybe we will find the answer someday.

Thanks to Azzabuv for the idea for this article