More cat scat...

We often receive emails from people wondering where to look for 'big cats' in the wild, and what signs to look out for. Signs of 'big cat' activity are relatively easy to find if one knows what they are looking for. A contact named James Mitson has been finding deer kills, paw prints and scat for a while now in Kent woodland. Recently, this scat was found in a dense area where there have been numerous deer kills - the scat is full of deer fur. Photo's courtesy of James Mitson

Deal leopard

"My wife and I were attending an alarm call out in Deal, Kent on Thursday (17th Nov 2011) night. The time was approx 0100 hours and we had driven from Margate so were fully awake and alert. We were about a mile away from Sholden on the Sandwich to Deal road near the fish farm. I was driving and said to my wife “ did you see that?” my wife immediately said “ the big black cat! with the really long tail”. The creature was sitting on the grass by the hedges on the left hand side and as we approached with headlights on main beam it slinked into hedge and out of sight. The creature in question was much larger than a domestic cat but not as big as a lion or tiger, but moved in the same way , almost with a swagger."

Latest 'big cat' activity...

On November 13th 2011 at 4pm a couple walking their dogs at Iwade, saw a large black cat run across a field. The animal, which was less than 100 metres away, was bigger than the dog, feline in posture and headed off towards the direction of trees not far from the School Lane area.

At Dymchurch a male witness found the carcass of an eaten fox in his back garden. The animal had been stripped of its fur, a hallmark of a cat kill. In most cases a cat kills via the throat, or back of the neck, leaving puncture marks. The flesh is then rasped with a sandpaper-like tongue. Fur or fleece is often peeled back and the head often left. Photo's courtesy of Kevan A.

Lynx sighting and others

On 30th October at 10:30 am two female witnesses travelling on the 18 bus through Upper Hardres, spotted a large, gingery coloured cat sitting a few yards away in the adjacent field. The cat remained unphased by the sound of the bus. Both women stated the animal had large, tufted ears and resembled a lynx. Recently a black leopard was observed by a motorist travelling at dusk through the Alkam Valley in the vicinity of Cowgate Lane. A large black cat with a long tail crossed the road in front of the vehicle. The witness had previously been sceptical regarding sightings of 'big cats' in the countryside. Another black leopard was seen in broad daylight by a cyclist travelling on a pathway in the village of Blue Bell Hill, not far from Maidstone. The cat was seen within the vicinity of Kits Coty House, an ancient stone structure.

Also, recently, sheep killed in a field in North Devon are being investigated with trigger cameras being set up in the hope of catching the predator on film. The sheep were said to have been killed by a large cat. Photographs courtesy of John Estall.