"I wish I'd had a camera..."

Well, it seems that for every sceptic quick to dismiss reports of so-called 'big cats' there is a witness who comes forward to report another. On Wednesday 6th March 2013 there was a sighting of a black leopard at Sandy Lane, Ashford. A male witness observed the cat, which stood just fifty yards away, at 7:00 am as he was working in the area. Again sceptics will argue that "he should have got a photo" but it must be worth ading that when someone is out working, the last thing they expect to see is a 'big cat.' The witness said: "Something caught my eye and I was drawn to the head and ears of an animal that was at least the size of an alsatian dog - the animal had a long tail, appeared jet black and was looking in my direction. It was about fifty yards away, I could see it wasn't a dog or domestic cat, and I turned away for a few seconds and then looked back and it had gone. I went home and looked on the internet and saw a picture of a 'panther' and that was definitely the cat I saw." A few days previous there was a sighting at Folkestone of a similar animal, this time a female witness whilst visiting her daughter, had been having a cigarette in the garden when she spotted a large black cat mooching through wasteland just a few yards away. The animal slinked off into undergrowth. The witness stated, "If it had been a domestic cat it would have been relatively small considering the distance but this thing was huge, and was built like a big cat. I wish I'd had a camera..." If we could have a pound for every time we heard a witness say "I wish I'd had a camera..." but this is a natural reaction. However sceptical you may be to the existence of such animals roaming our wilds, not everyone sleeps, drives, or has a cigarette with their camera at the ready. Most sightings reported last only a few seconds, and in most cases involve animals in the distance. Unless a leopard walks up to someone we're pretty much of the opinion that a majority of photo's and pieces of film footage will be heavily criticised, which is understandable. And so, we have to rely on other evidence - and yet even faeces, paw prints, and sheep/deer kills are arrogantly dismissed, leaving us asking the question, just what evidence will be good enough? A dead cat? Well, lynx, jungle cat and leopard cat have been shot or run over, still not sufficient evidence? Hopefully the number of trigger camera's set up in woodlands across the UK will get a convincing photo, but even then we're sure that the sceptics will argue that the animal on film is an escapee from a zoo.