Isn't it amazing how many newspapers, news programmes etc are all too keen to run a story on a piece of blurry, inconclusive film said to show a 'big cat', when there's far stronger evidence being found in the countryside on a weekly basis. Recently we posted on the 'big cat' whisker discovered on a doorstep of an Ashford back garden, and here's the photo to prove it. We attach an image also of a leopard to show how the whisker compares in size and colour. Leopard whiskers taper about half way along and can measure about 7 inches - the whisker found in Ashford in six inches. It also has a two-ton eeffect to the colour, with a whitish side backed by light brown. It is strong in structure, almost feeling like a light bone. Naturalist Jon McGowan, who researchers 'big cats' down in Dorset - who also owns a whisker or two - confirmed our suspicions it was a whisker of possibly a leopard.
More evidence has also come to light recently, as well as a sighting from the 29th March of a black leopard at Ashford ( a male witness was driving on the A2070 at 12:20 pm when he saw a large, slender black cat running across a field in the vicinity of the military canal), leopard scat and a fox and deer kill have been found near Tonbridge and also Edenbridge where a large cat may well have been filmed ona trigger camera.
"I sighted a black cat this morning at about 11:15 this morning (24/3/2012). I was walking down Windmill hill towards Pie Corner with my dog and I saw a black object which at first glance looked like a black rubbish bag on the side of the road. I was about 200 yards away as I got closer it turned out to be a large black cat and it was going to the toilet, at this point it was about 100 yards away from me. It looked up at me and the dog, it finished what it was doing, got up and ambled across the road showing no fear. It went through a hedge and disappeared. I went to where I thought it went through the hedge to see if I could see it in the field but it was not to be seen. I went back to where it had gone to the toilet to look for scat but could not find anything so I guess it was having a wee."
"It was strange there were two pheasants wandering near by one only a few feet away from it, they seemed not nervous of it and it did not have any interest in them so I guess it had eaten. The cats tail was long, I would think as long as its body and had the head of a leopard and I am guessing I would think it was a very young adult ( not quite a kitten and not quite an adult) adolescent is the word I was trying to think of. I hope this is of help."
It's fair to say that evidence to support the existence of large, exotic cats in Britain is abundant, especially if we look at the amount of scat, sheep/deer predation and paw print casts. Some would argue that such evidence isn't strong enough which is rather odd when one considers that in many a natural history documentary kills, scat, etc, are perfect when tracking an animal such as a leopard. Sadly, even in this world of so-called advanced technology we're constantly exposed to horrible blurred images of alleged 'big cats' which do nothing more than make a mockery of the research. There are many other pieces of evidence one can look for when scouring the countryside, but such traces are often considered as rather obscure in relation to the paw prints etc. Shed claws, hair samples, whiskers, are not easy to find - these are small samples which are vital to research but are rarely found - not because they aren't there, but simply because a majority of people/researchers are never thorough enough when looking. This is not a swipe, but simply a fact and the same goes for a majority of wildlife which can leave many signs, some more obscure than others - things are easily missed. A few hairs on a barbed wire fence, a claw at the base of a scratched tree, and a whisker on the doorstep.
On February 11th 2012, during the snow, an East Kent woman took several photographs of large paw prints which had appeared in her garden. However, the most startling piece of evidence came to light when the correspondent looked on her doorstep and found a very large whisker, which appears to have come from a cat such as a leopard. We have this hair in our possession, thanks to the witness, and its makes for intriguing evidence as these sort of things are not common when it comes to finds pertaining to so-called 'big cats.' At some point photo's will hopefully appear on this site showing the whisker.
A female witness named Sian has had her third encounter with a black leopard in the wilds of Kent. On Tuesday 20th March at approximately 6:15 pm she was travelling on a train between Marden and Paddock Wood when a large black animal, resembling a 'big cat' ran across a field some fifty metres away. The animal was running toward Marden and in the words of the witness, "The size, movement and curled up tail made me think it was a black leopard but I had no camera!"
Last year Sian saw a black leopard near Rolvenden.
On Thursday 8th March 2012 at 7:30 pm approx, an experienced mountaineer, rambler, et al, was strolling on the North Downs area of Kent, not far from Blue Bell Hill when he heard a strange coughing noise coming from the pathway about 25 yards ahead. Thinking that someone was ill or there may have been a dog or sheep nearby the man pressed on. After walking a few more seconds, just 5 yards away in the undergrowth, he spotted an large black shape. There were no sheep in the area and the noise was unlike anything he had heard before in some thirty years of hiking. The man reached for a small torch but the animal was gone. The witness believed he'd seen a black leopard which had slinked off. The man, in the past, had been rather sceptical to such sightings, but used to the sounds of nature was convinced that the coughing came from a large cat. The black leopard is known for its deep sawing cough and bubbly, guttural growl. Sightings around Blue Bell Hill have been sporadic over the last few years although recently a jogger saw a big, black cat not far from the ancient stones known as Kits Coty House.
If anyone is interested in hearing the different sounds a leopard makes please follow this link: http://www.junglewalk.com/sound/leopard-sounds.htm
Also this week there been sightings of black leopard at Chartham Hatch, Wye and Sevenoaks and a lynx report also from the outskirts of Canterbury.
This grisly image was sent from a lady named Trina who reported, and thankfully photographed her find, whilst with her son near Darenth during early March 2012. In the past there have been numerous sightings around Darenth of black leopard. The fox carcass had been completely rasped. Interestingly, a month or so ago a goat was killed in peculiar circumstances at a farm at Dartford, which, as the crow flies, is not far from Darenth. The goat had been found eaten.
On Thursday 1st March a large, black cat was seen at Sheerness on the isle of Sheppey. Sightings on the island are usually sporadic, and sceptics often scoff at the possibility of a large cat roaming the island. My latest post at Kent Online delves deeper into the mystery and can be read by clicking HERE
