Big cat update

WE HAVE many ‘alien’ creatures living wild in the UK.

To look out of the conservatory window and spot a ring necked parakeet feeding from the bird table is a fascinating sight, even a little Asian deer in our rose bush will warrant a mention to our neighbours.

But a big black or brown cat the size of a Labrador padding silently across the lawn is another matter.

One for concern, this animal is a large predator, and it eats flesh.

Foxes and badgers we know but the big cats are hard to accept, they make us feel somewhat uneasy.

But they are living in our sight, just like other native wildlife.

From the many sightings I receive – mainly from SNJ readers – and the amount of field evidence I come across, ie scratch marks, paw marks, droppings, and deer kills, point to a small population existing in the Stroud valleys and surrounding areas.

Those of you who read my first report in the SNJ of Wednesday, March 4 will know that I monitor and plot these cats movements.

I also have in place 24/7 trip cameras set up in locations where these wild cats have been seen on a regular basis.

Hopefully I will get an image or two of these anonymous creatures.

Remember to capture footage of that shy and reclusive big cat, the snow leopard, the BBC wildlife film crew spent nearly two years in the snowy wastes of its mountainous stronghold, before they were successful.

The very high percentage (85 per cent) of similar uniform descriptions I receive, eg. jet black, Labrador size, long in the body, small head, with a very long tail, endorses my theory that these animals are now naturalised in this country, and breeding true to type.

Their behaviour and physical make up is dictated by the prey species available to them, and the habitat they live in also influence their way of life.

Several species of deer are preyed upon by these big cats but rabbits, mice, pheasants, mice, and voles also make up the cats’ diet.

Below are a series of new reports and sightings, relayed to me by a large cross section of SNJ readers and other residents of the surrounding areas.

Big cat reports 2009 (in reverse order) 1 - Thursday, June 18, 2009: On the A417 between Ampney Street and the Red Lion at Poulton, 1.15pm.

A man and his wife were driving from Cirencester to Lechlade in an area on the road bordered by Eastington House. They both saw a large black cat, going into the road, coming from right to left. The animal had either a white chicken or domestic cat in his mouth. In one bound it travelled over a large white wall and rambled towards the Eastington House border.

2 - Saturday, June 6, 2009: At the Aston Downs car boot site, ex MoD land, just off the A419, 8.15am.

A member of the car boot staff was just about to enter the site to set up for the boot sale the following day.

He noticed some rabbits in open area; as this man went to unlock the gate, a large Labrador-sized, but rather skinny big cat come out of some cover and ‘trotted’ over the adjacent hedge, where it sat and watched him for a few minutes, before disappearing into the undergrowth. NOTE: although it was a large, nearly panther-sized cat, it displayed routine eye pupils, diluted by the sunshine. This type of eye pupil is common in smaller cat species.

3 June 2, 2009: Cam Hapton School, Cam, Dursley, no time given.

A boy called Sam looked out of the classroom window to see a large black cat, 'as large as a dining table'. Sam said that it was standing by the school pond, and after a few minutes it ran into a corner, knocking over a flowerpot in its haste to make itself scarce.

4 - May 30, 2009: Penn woods on the Cotswold way, King's Stanley area, 10pm.

A woman was walking her son’s beagle puppy, when the dog suddenly stopped abruptly. The woman looked back down the track to see a Labrador-sized black cat, it was slim in the body, with long legs.

The cat saw the woman with the dog, and suddenly crouched low to the ground, before slinking off into the lean undergrowth.

The woman described the cat as having a very long tail, and as the sunlight glinted from the cat’s eye, they saw orange in colour. The woman ran as fast as she could back to her car, as she was terrified at what she had seen, and thought that it might pursue her, or the dog. “I never knew I could run that fast,” she told me. The presence of the cat might have been due to the small dog.

5 - June 1, 2009: Seen from a house in Butterow Lane, Stroud, 4.45am.

The gentleman in question had got out of bed to use the toilet, after which he looked out of his window into a neighbour’s garden which looks out onto a wooded area. At approximately 100 yards, he saw a large black catlike animal standing by the edge of the wooded area. This shocked the gentleman, but he continued to watch the creature, who after a few moments melted into the edge of the wood. NOTE: a black catlike creature has been seen in this area many times.

6 - Sunday, April 4, 2009: Down View, Chalford, near Eastcombe, 11:40 pm.

A man was locking up his house before returning to bed, when he happened to look out of the front window.

By the light of the yellow street lamp he saw a large black cat in the road outside.

It was sniffing something in the road, and the end of its tail was twitching. The man had a clear view of the animal, and describing it as being as big as a Labrador but with longer legs.

It had a thick body, with a small cat-like head, and a very long curly tail. (This is now a common description). The gentleman quickly went off to get a camera, but the cat spotted him and crouched down low before sprinting off. NOTE: this was the night before his brother was scared by animal noises in the night.

* Frank Tunbridge is a trucker and investigator of exotic animals, mainly the big cat, which is resident all the year round in the Cotswolds as well as in other parts of Great Britain. He gives advice, and talks on the subject of big cats and welcomes anyone with a sighting or other related evidence, to call him in confidence on 07711 476715.

* Join the big cat debate at stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk