There have been around 14 eye-witness reports made of so-called 'big cats' in Kent in the last month up until 25th November, the most recent being near Dartford where a visitor from Suffolk stated, "I was waiting at the roundabout on the B3228 where it joins the A206. It was about 7:30 PM on Tuesday 19th November 2013. There were no other cars around and I was waiting for the red light to change. As I sat there I saw an animal run out of the bushes on the roundabout, cross the road and disappear onto the bushes on the far side of the road. It was about the size a reasonably large dog – Retriever/German Shepherd - but was shaped like a cat and moved like one. It had a very long tail which immediately made me think of a leopard and because of this and the way it moved I was sure it was a cat. It was much too big to be a fox and because of the tail couldn’t have been a deer and moved completely differently. It definitely wasn’t a dog again because of the shape and movement. It was much too big to be a domestic cat."
There have also been two reports recently of a large black cat in rural Maidstone towards Lenham.
Even so, despite so many sightings a lot of evidence being put forward, especially in regards to photographs and video footage, is extremely poor. What usually happens when some people claim to have filmed a 'big cat' is that they state quite categorically that their evidence is open to debate but when you tell them it's inconclusive they dismiss you out of hand and then venture to other so-called 'big cat' groups in the hope that others will find their evidence compelling. Sadly, despite the numbers of trigger cameras in woodlands all over the UK literally every piece of footage or photograph I've seen where the witness claims to have seen a 'big cat' - is inconclusive. ALL evidence should be put under scrutiny but if you don't like your evidence being analysed then please DO go else where.
The sad thing is that I've often been scalded in the press by detractors and yet I'm one of the only people 'out there' in this field who believes that most 'big cat' evidence isn't good enough. Nothing bugs me more than someone who sits in doors whilst letting their expensive set of trigger cameras (which are all set up in the wrong place) do the work. It's as if they simply want to film a 'big cat' to make some money out of it, all the while advertising the alleged areas of activity to would-be hunters. Only recently a chap from Ashford bought three trigger camera's after claiming he'd seen a "lion-like" creature near local woods. As I was quick to mention, if there was any type of 'big cat' around, especially a lion - which is nigh on impossible unless it's recently escaped from a zoo, and then in this case it would be tracked down and recaptured/shot/tranquillised, then it would be leaving evidence.
If you think you've caught a 'big cat' on film, please be aware that if you pass it around from researcher to researcher, not everyone will agree with you unless that image is crystal clear. By being non-biased about a specific piece of evidence does not make a researcher any less of a person, in fact it makes them open minded and that's how researchers should be. Any big cat enthusiast etc, should be willing to have their evidence looked at, and those that claim to see and film 'big cats on a regular basis should be dong more field work in order to find evidence because clearly your trail camera's are not up to scratch hence the poor images. We really hope that someone does get a crystal clear image of a leopard/puma/lynx et al sniffing around a camera but until then, the distant images of blobs, shadows etc are not good enough.
Monday, 25 November 2013
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
British big cats
The British 'big cat' situation has been hotly debated for a few decades now, and this debate will no doubt continue regardless of whatever evidence comes to light. However, it's a 'scene' which brings with it a variety of individuals, most of whom - whatever walk of life they come from - simply having the aim of wanting to know more about these animals and prove they exist. Of course, the British 'big cat' situation also brings with it its fair share of sceptics which is understandable but the saddest thing of all are the amount of cranks involved who crawl out of the woodwork. We've always been of the opinion that there's no such thing as bad publicity but it really is sad when some people feel the need to personally abuse those involved in this research. When one considers that children, as well as adults show an interest in this sort of thing, it's rather worrying when internet trolls, bullies, or whatever you want to call them, feel the need to hide behind pseudonyms and continually slag off those who like to spend their time doing this sort of research.
The main issue of course is that no evidence is considered good enough for some, and that's fair enough, everyone has an opinion on what can and cannot be but isn't really pathetic when numerous individuals feel the need to actually take time out of their 'busy' schedule to direct personal abuse at those who simply like to go out and look for evidence on this sort of thing. Everyone loves a mystery, but we really do feel for any young generation of folk who've only just started in this field, because there really are some hilarious cowards out there who spend all of their time spouting negative rubbish without realising that their emails etc are quite easy to trace back to source. We've always found it quite flattering that some individuals take time out to spread such negativity, there's certainly no such thing as bad publicity but some people really do have a bee in their bonnet when it comes to 'big cats' and those involved with searching for them.
No-one is claiming to be an expert especially when we are dealing with a situation that has not been officially recognised in the UK, but there's nothing worse than those who a) refuse to look at any evidence presented, b) are so wrapped up in their own ego that they can't find the time to be civil. It's no wonder that the police have been contacted on several occasions about certain internet 'trolls' - all evidence is open to debate and healthy discussion but when things get personal it's a sorry state of affairs. It's no wonder some people are hesitant to not only report their sightings but also take up their own form of research. It seems that a number of scientists and the like are coming on board to analyse certain evidence etc, but there will always be pathetic people out there who can only resort to petty remarks to pump their ego - of course, these are the sort of people with nothing better to do and certainly do not have the decency to say things to people's faces, but thanks to some good old fashioned research and nice people there's no hint that the British 'big cat' situation and its researchers are going to go away, because despite what the cynics say, the evidence is mounting.
At some point a 'big cat' may be caught on film, clear as day, but ideally we need to get the scientists etc more involved, but of course, not every piece of evidence can be analysed, and not every zoologist can give their time to spend day after day holed up in the countryside looking for such cats, but there'll always be sad individuals around who are gutless but thanks to these hilarious people, more and more people are taking to the woods looking for evidence. People want to learn, and that can't be stifled.
There is a lot of evidence to suggest large predatory cats ARE roaming the wilds of the UK, and there will always be people out there to dismiss not just the evidence, but those who conduct their search. That's life, but for those of you who wish to seek such animals, remain positive and remember, there are idiots everywhere...and where would the world be without them?!
The main issue of course is that no evidence is considered good enough for some, and that's fair enough, everyone has an opinion on what can and cannot be but isn't really pathetic when numerous individuals feel the need to actually take time out of their 'busy' schedule to direct personal abuse at those who simply like to go out and look for evidence on this sort of thing. Everyone loves a mystery, but we really do feel for any young generation of folk who've only just started in this field, because there really are some hilarious cowards out there who spend all of their time spouting negative rubbish without realising that their emails etc are quite easy to trace back to source. We've always found it quite flattering that some individuals take time out to spread such negativity, there's certainly no such thing as bad publicity but some people really do have a bee in their bonnet when it comes to 'big cats' and those involved with searching for them.
No-one is claiming to be an expert especially when we are dealing with a situation that has not been officially recognised in the UK, but there's nothing worse than those who a) refuse to look at any evidence presented, b) are so wrapped up in their own ego that they can't find the time to be civil. It's no wonder that the police have been contacted on several occasions about certain internet 'trolls' - all evidence is open to debate and healthy discussion but when things get personal it's a sorry state of affairs. It's no wonder some people are hesitant to not only report their sightings but also take up their own form of research. It seems that a number of scientists and the like are coming on board to analyse certain evidence etc, but there will always be pathetic people out there who can only resort to petty remarks to pump their ego - of course, these are the sort of people with nothing better to do and certainly do not have the decency to say things to people's faces, but thanks to some good old fashioned research and nice people there's no hint that the British 'big cat' situation and its researchers are going to go away, because despite what the cynics say, the evidence is mounting.
At some point a 'big cat' may be caught on film, clear as day, but ideally we need to get the scientists etc more involved, but of course, not every piece of evidence can be analysed, and not every zoologist can give their time to spend day after day holed up in the countryside looking for such cats, but there'll always be sad individuals around who are gutless but thanks to these hilarious people, more and more people are taking to the woods looking for evidence. People want to learn, and that can't be stifled.
There is a lot of evidence to suggest large predatory cats ARE roaming the wilds of the UK, and there will always be people out there to dismiss not just the evidence, but those who conduct their search. That's life, but for those of you who wish to seek such animals, remain positive and remember, there are idiots everywhere...and where would the world be without them?!
Monday, 4 November 2013
Platt 'big cat' sighting
On the 30th October 2013 at 9pm a female motorist observed a large cat crossing the Gravesend Road at Platt. The report was received from her partner who wrote:
"After speaking to my girlfriend the next day in more detail about the sighting (after I'd sent the email) she said that it crossed from one side of the road to the other. It went across the road from left to right, running from one set of trees, onto the road and then through the broken fence into the darkness.
From the car it was about twenty meters away and the size was un-mistakenly bigger then a domestic cat and was no where near the same shape or had the same movement as a fox or other wild animals.
My girlfriend couldn't give a direct speed but said it moved fast and the colour was that of a shadow (dark) and she is absolutely convinced that it represented that of a Puma/Leopard.
If the animal was a domestic cat I'm sure that she would've missed it at this distance, she wouldn't of seen it with as much accuracy and she wouldn't of been as shaken up by the sighting."
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