The Sheppey 'big cat'.

For several years rumours have spread of a large cat roaming the Isle of Sheppey, 60 sq miles of marshland teeming with a veritable feast of wildlife. A local man on the island DID once own a puma but the cat most often sighted around areas such as Minster, Eastchurch and Leysdowne is in fact a black leopard.
No-one knows how the animal got there, although it is likely that the felid came on the island via the bridge, possibly one night, or it was simply released onto the island a few years ago. There were also rumours that a leopard was shot and killed on the island but there's no evidence to suggest such an incident happened.
A black cat, bigger than a domestic cat and certainly 'panther-like' was filmed and put up on You Tube but now the footage has been removed.


Although the footage is brief and blurry, anyone with any knowledge of 'big cats' should easily be able to identify this animal as a leopard. The first frame shows the incredible length of the body, the low arching back and muscular shoulders, and the long tail.

Over the last few years there have also been rumours that a large, black cat was shot and killed during a pheasant shoot. There is no evidence to suggest such an incident occurred.