Scottish Cougar!

[Tally]

A policeman has spotted what appears to be a cougar (medium-sized wild cat) taking a wander along a railway line in Scotland: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgo...est/8172064.stm

[pookie170]

There was an incident near us a while back, of a horse suffering a mutilation due to a 'big cat' attack. There have long been rumours of big cats living wild in Scotland, with speculation that they may have escaped from private collections (before such things became illegal) and have been breeding in low numbers ever since....

Honestly, there have been many such sightings over the years........it's possible, I suppose!

[Kathryn]

I want one!

 

K x

[Mumble]

I want one!

Me too. On toast please, I'm starving.

 

You would need an awfully big cupboard to keep all the tins of cat food one of those would get through. And a huge toy catnip filled mouse on the end of a fishing rod.

 

[Kathryn]

Tins of cat food??? They hunt, don't they? There's a VERY annoying little dog next door.

 

K x

[Tally]

I'm pretty convinced there really are big cats living and breeding in the UK, although I also think that many sightings are actually domestic cats. In the dark it's harder to judge distance, and things may look bigger than they really are.

 

It's possible that people are still illegally keeping wild cats, who wouldn't report it if the animal escaped.

[something_different]

yup saw that on the news the other day

[Kathryn]

Whatever it is, it might face competition from

 

these

 

I never knew such creatures existed.

 

K x

[bid]

When I saw the title of this thread I thought Pookie had developed a taste for toyboys!

 

Boho

[bid]

Whatever it is, it might face competition from

 

these

 

I never knew such creatures existed.

 

K x

 

I remember this being in one of my 'I-Spy' books when I was a kid (who remembers them??)...I wonder if anyone ever ticked it off?

 

Boho

 

[something_different]

I've seen one................in a museum!

Edited July 30, 2009 by something_different

[LordGorse]

Oooo big cats on the loose--Guy N Smith's favourite topic He even wrote a couple of books about them: Caracal and Maneater. I remember a series of reports a few years ago in my area of a panther on the loose. I recall it well because during that period my friend and I found a gored sheep on the bank of the Derwent; it's throat had been torn and it's belly was gaping open, but the scariest thing was it was still warm . They probably are from private menageries; there was a group of wallabies living in the Peak District for years, after being released from a private collection back in 1938 (!), but it's believed that a series of very cold winters during the 70s killed them off

[Mumble]

I remember this being in one of my 'I-Spy' books when I was a kid (who remembers them??)...

I do I'm wondering what happened to them now, as I had loads of them. They're probably in one of the many boxes of my books in my Mum's house. I always thought it would be useful to have an I spy I spy books book.

 

there was a group of wallabies living in the Peak District for years, after being released from a private collection back in 1938 (!), but it's believed that a series of very cold winters during the 70s killed them off

There are wild wallabies that escaped from a private collection living and breeding somewhere in the South - I can't remember where. You could borrow a few and re-introduce them up north, but you would have to provide them with knitted jumpers to keep them warm enough!

 

[Tally]

I don't think anything as large as a panther could live unnoticed in the UK. Even if there were, they are more likely to fear humans than attack them.

[Mumble]

I want one!

They've just had an advert on the TV for 'Adopt a Tiger' You could take it literally and insist they ship it over to you