Chasing Shadows: Britain's Big Cat Mystery | Full Documentary

[@bassmanjapan1729]

I've seen a LARGE black cat with my own eyes, clear as day, bold as brass!! From passenger seat whilst travelling along A47, Norfolk. It was walking through a field. I googled wild cats spotted in Norfolk immediately on my phone and was shocked at the amount of reports from the exact village we were passing. I feel quite honoured 😊

[@desiangrezifoodie]

I live in Norfolk. My mum saw a Lynx around an area called Wood Green near Long Stratton. Where was your sighting?

[@bassmanjapan1729]

@@desiangrezifoodie just past turning sign posted to Shipdham on A47 just before Necton. It looked like a panther to me. She was big, Lots of muscle, such an awesome sight.

[@desiangrezifoodie]

@@bassmanjapan1729 lucky you to have seen such a sight. Norfolk has many big cat sightings so maybe one day I'll get lucky.

[@johnmead8437]

@@bassmanjapan1729 Must have been close to tell it was a "she" panther, or else an expert witness. Hence possibility of standard large moggy mis-identified, as commonly done on YT clips.

[@bassmanjapan1729]

@@johnmead8437 I didn't see it on a yt clip tho did I....... I saw it walking through a Norfolk field with my own eyes

[@chimesquare]

My and my friend walked up some Bedfordshire country side behind my parents house when we were 13 at 3am in 2004. We got halfway up the big hill and started spooking ourselves about ghosts and weirdos. We hear rustling and stop for about 30 seconds, scared stiff but concluding it was rabbits or a fox. We took a few steps forward and then heard what sounded like a horse thudding towards our direction. We froze and out leapt a panther right in front of us. It leapt across from left to right about 5 feet in front of us. Literally like the Puma logo. I saw the teeth, not so much the body, mouth was opened wide and the teeth left a streak in the air it moved so quick. Then I heard the noise a split second later. A thunderous growl. It really was like thunder and clapped my ear drums and stunned me and my friend to the ground. We got up and run for our lives. When we got to the bottom of the hill we were shaking and laughing and crying. Ran home and woke my mother up at 5am. Rang the police and were told it wasn’t the first sighting! 100% the truth. Many don’t believe me or say I saw a fox! I know what I saw and heard. Feel quite lucky to have seen it.. and maybe to even be alive 😂 I often think what the newspapers would have been if I’d have got eaten/killed.. think it was warning me off a meal or less likely some young it had with it

[@CarolAngel-ur6nc]

My boyfriend and his grandson see one at tebworth, this would have been about 8 year's ago now, I see one in harlington, my sighting was a long time ago though.

[@NaturesTemper]

Fantasticly made documentary but a few things bother me, it's mainly just wording tbh. When they say lynx aren't supposed to be the uk, that's false, lynx were native up until the medieval period where they were hunted to extinction. And if there are any breeding wild in the UK? GOOD, we need wild predators like them in the biodiversity hell that is Britain. The other thing is depending on how far you go back we had an assortment of big cats here, including european jaguar, cave lion and potentially eurasian puma. Though All of these died out in the Pleistocene, and none survive here today.

[@grayza2988]

Thanks for that david attenborough

[@mkmaudsley8381]

That’s not to mention the scores kept at private addresses illegally! There’s been a few large black cat sightings where I live over the years.

[@grahamwillis585]

Exactly well said.

[@firstnamelastname6038]

Touche mon ami!

[@Hihrise7733]

Lynx were native in the UK up until about 700AD

[@tsunamitube3351]

I live in Cornwall. It's well known amongst people and authorities we have big cats down here. It's amazing no one has ever been attacked given the amount of close encounters experienced here. Me and two other men pulled a stag carcass that must of weighed 100 kilo /200 pounds 60 metres up a field toward the house and through an 8 foot locked deer fence. The next day some kind of big cat had got it over the 8 foot damn fence and another 80 metres down the field and devoured what was left. The amount of sightings and evidence over the years is abundant in Cornwall

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

Wow!!. Definitely a big cat to manage that!

[@davebuster5748]

Coyotes can do that no problem too

[@johnmead8437]

The different between a leopard taking a carcass up a tree and over an 8 foot fence are major, and the latter is scarcely credible (try climbing one with owner consent of course, there is little sloid resistance to get the leverage needed to carry a load). So it either went under the fence or confusion has occurred. The action of taking a large carcass towards a house and leaving it to stink is difficult to understand.

[@shafqatishan437]

@@edwardtreadwell3859 They bring captive Cougars, Black Panthers and other cats to Britain for masonic lodge parties for some rituals and release them in the open to confuse some public confusion, and then take them away. Hence the cryptology continues.

[@arifhail9370]

So wheres the footage then ?

[@fredm2450]

Great documentary, the from panther a at the end spoke a lot of sense. A few years back a lynx escaped from Borth Zoo in Mid Wales, it was tracked down a few days later to a caravan park nearby and shot dead. The authorities said they had to shoot it as opposed to trying to recapture it, because they couldn't be sure it was the same one. That says to me they know there are more out there.

[@nospoon4799]

I saw a report not long ago of a man starting up Snowdon early in the morning (pre dawn) and being backed off the trail by what he described as definitely a cougar.

[@lluecaradoc]

I 100% saw a Lynx around 12 years ago just out side Merthyr Tydfil in South wales

[@The_ZeroLine]

@@lluecaradoc Something as small as a Lynx could easily live unnoticed in the UK. Lynx are also all over Europe. They can also take the cold.

[@The_ZeroLine]

The boar was definitely staged. It made no sense. However, just cause one guy lied, doesn’t take away from any of the other evidence.

[@pnvgordinho]

Why shoot it?. They dont attack Humans. In my country we breed them and set them free.

[@professormushroom5456]

when i was a kid, maybe 5 or 6, i remember ever so clearly. i was walking down to my grandparents house in a very quite area because my dad and i had just got back from a long journey. my dad got out the van and walked down to the house to pick up our dog and i shut the gate behind him, i cane down probably around a minute or two after him and saw these wide pair of yellow eyes at least at my head height at the time from about 15ft away staring at my and i just ran and went inside as the door wasnt far. my dad only about a year before that had watched a large leopard like cat from inside his van walking at the top of the drive, and for years after my experience i was terrified of walking in the dark on my own

[@cromwellg60]

I saw one in rural Buckinghamshire in about 1999 when out riding bikes with a friend. I was about 12. It turned and looked at us and ran into the trees. It was bloody huge. 100% a big cat, because my brain immediately went “oh there’s a (domestic) cat, wonder what it’s doing out here” before registering what it was by realising the size of it. It was about twice the size of a large dog and jet black. My friend saw it too and immediately said “holy shit that’s a Panther!”. Nobody ever believed us and thought we were making it up. It was about 100ft away on the other side of a field. I looked at it for maybe 10 seconds before it ran off and got a very clear view.

[@jackbicknell4711]

Wasn't a panther mate. They don't exist here. Big black dog or something. If it was, we'd know about it. Cheers

[@bentaylor4490]

They do exist here. Yet another bullshit comment from you calling people out. The lad saw a panther, get over it.

[@jackbicknell4711]

@@bentaylor4490 I find the ignorance entertaining. If there was a panther in the UK we would have irrefutable proof. Almost everyone in the country owns a phone camera. And yet not a single DECENT photograph exists. UK isn't big enough for them to hide for that long without even at least a farmer snapping a pic. Makes zero sense.

[@cromwellg60]

@@bentaylor4490 yeah, im not lying. Don’t really know why I would lie about this tbh. I could tell you the exact field i was in, in Hughenden, Bucks. Nobody believed us at the time but i know what we saw. I grew up and spent countless hours in the countryside / farmlands and never saw anything like it before or since. It was a big cat.

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

​what a stupid comment. They exist. Get over it.

[@momclean]

In the early 1990's ,I had a small holding on the edge of Dartmoor. I had large animals as well as breeding and showing German Shepherd dogs - my neighbours were farmers. One day one of my young dogs went walk about, and was spotted in a farmers field with sheep. The Famer was alerted, and I was contacted regarding my dog. I recovered the dog, then was told by the farmer that he had found a couple of dead sheep, and a couple were injured..he felt my dog was to blame! I called my vet to come out and check the scene, and inspect my dog. He found that there was no sheep wool in the teeth of the dog and no blood evidence, and he said that the injuries to the dead sheep, were not of a dog kill, but of a large cat, and that he knew of large cats in Devon and Cornwall. It was well known among the farming community that wild cats had been let loose by a local private zoo.

[@SyTheMetalhead]

Was this the Northern edge of Dartmoor by any chance ?

[@momclean]

@@SyTheMetalhead ...no, southern edge.

[@SyTheMetalhead]

@@momclean I know there were a lot of sightings around the Northern edge, particularly the Okehampton, South Zeal and Belstone areas

[@gazzy9136]

That sounds like a more believable story. Quite interested in this topic now

[@Onslaught17]

Must have been a lot of them released, to have built up a population that survived for decades.

[@MikeStarKaraokeUK]

I see a large black cat near to the dog kennels on way to Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. That same black cat was seen by a dog walker near Wendover woods. So it must have walked across the fields to get to wendover that day

[@Callrissian]

Never told anyone this before (apart form the wife). I used to be a truck driver on permanent nights travelling between Thatcham in Berkshire to Fradley Park near Lichfield every night. One morning in Sept/ Oct, 2006/2007 at about 4am, I saw what I believed to be a big black cat feeding on either a Muntjac or a Fallow deer in a fairly dense wooded area called "Langley Wood" on the southbound A34 about 5 mile North of Jct 14 of the M4. Had I been driving a car I would've completely missed it but with the added height of the truck I could clearly see it and even slowed down a bit just to make sure.

[@randomstuffz3502]

Sounds interesting. Tell us more

[@BFree-ge6ms]

Callrissian, Thank you, this helps other witnesses who need validation too.

[@bhencho5256]

There was a big cat sighting last year by a cyclist just outside hungerford, very close to area you're talking about

[@johnfurey3593]

Mate I'm from Birmingham. I work at hams hall and not far from there on the way to tamworth I saw what I can only explain to be a big back cat. Bigger than any common dog. I even stopped and watched run to the woodland. I always wanted to go there and investigate. That was 10 years ago now.

[@rnorvegicus]

" I saw what I believed to be a big black cat feeding on either a Muntjac or a Fallow deer ~ I could clearly see it and even slowed down a bit just to make sure. " Muntjac = 13 - 18 Kg. Fallow = 46 - 80 Kg.

[@craiginboro679]

The thing spotted at 29:59 is what I spotted 35+ yrs ago. Id bought an escort mk2 and had a run to Whitby . On the way back somewhere between Danby and the turn off to Commondale a dear shot right across the road , as I composed myself after slamming my brakes on something which I describe as a flying bear appeared in pursuit. It must have leapt 20' or so. BTW there are thousands things like buzzards, badgers and deers and most of the 66million population have not seen one.

[@FatBlockOfHash]

My mum saw a Puma on the border between Surrey and Hampshire. This would've been like in the late 90s or so. Shes told me the story many times over the years, the story never changes, and my Mum really isn't a liar, nothing disgusts her more than lying. She was on her way to work early in the morning, still kinda dark. She has always said that it jumped out of the woods, touched down roughly on the middle line of the road and jumped back into the woods on the opposite side of the road. It jumped 2 lanes of road in 2 jumps. No domestic cat can do that, nor are any so big. Years later she met a boyfriend who had found a dead sheep, totally mauled and dragged halfway over a barbed wire fence. No way any natural predator in UK is big or strong enough to maul a sheep that bad, and drag such a heavy weight mostly over a barbed wire fence. There was 100% a big cat in my area between the late 90s and early 2000s. To my knowledge there haven't been any sightings in my area for years and years. I certainly believe that there was a Puma or other big black cat.

[@shafqatishan437]

They bring captive Cougars, Black Panthers and other cats to Britain for masonic lodge parties for some rituals and release them in the open to confuse some public confusion, and then take them away. Hence the cryptology continues.

[@paulatkins5847]

I saw a Black Panther in the grounds of Knowle Hospital near Fareham in Hampshire in mid 90s. On a clear sunny midday that happened to be my birthday, crossing a white chalk track no more than 20ft away. The animal was huge with rippling muscles, like Bagheera from jungle book. I'm sure it was female. She growled at me as she skulked by with her jaw nearly on the ground. Her tail was very long and raised, bending at the end like a hook. The last thing I saw was the tail moving through long grass like the fin from the movie Jaws. I sympathise with your Mum - only one person had ever believed me! 2 yrs later I read in the Portsmouth Evening News that a huge cat had been spotted in Farlington Marshes in Sussex, about 20 miles away or so.

[@goblinbollocks2838]

Pumas are not black.

[@pauldh62]

We know that numerous wild cats like leopards, can live in the UK. We also know that significant numbers of wild cats have escaped zoos. This poses a number of questions, one being can a lynx provide or receive seed to give rise to a progeny from a cross breed with a domestic cat. There is no shortage of natural prey for these cats to feast on, namely deer. They don't really need us or sheep as a food source. Go out at dawn or dusk into Epping Forest and you will almost trip over them. I saw a fawn coloured cat in the Fens the size of a labrador. I thought it might be a puma or cougar. While the beast noticed me and wondered in my direction, it showed absolutely no interest.

[@goblinbollocks2838]

@@pauldh62 if you're gonna say "we know that," not, "it might be possible that," then show me a credible expert willing to state emphatically that a breeding population of leopards could exist here without being detected and show me all the records of these large, dangerous cat species that have gone missing from zoos in the UK and then never recovered. And no, lynx cannot breed with domestic cats. For one, it's far more likely to eat it, two, the size difference is probably going to be something of an issue, and thirdly, the only one that really matters, it's scientifically impossible as they don't have the corresponding number of chromosomes. For any crossbreed to be viable, they have to have this, you can have two species that look morphologically similar to us, like for example a shiba inu dog and a fox, or a small lynx and large Maine coon cat, and they could never produce offspring even if they tried because they have a different number of chromosomes to one another, yet a wolf could mate with an old english bulldog which it looks nothing like and produce viable offspring.

[@mentalmickey1459]

22:47 I love how he's trying not to laugh

[@Badger69-96]

My Dad saw a Black Panther in Worcestershire back in the early 90s. It was an early summer morning, and the sun was just coming up as he went out for a cigarette while working a night-shift. As soon as he opened the factory back door, he spotted a big black cat about 40 feet away, disappearing around the back of the bins and into a field. He said he'd never been so scared in all his life, and it certainly made him stop smoking at work ✌️💯

[@tibikeresztes8207]

I thought this was an Australian doco. The big cats seem to be in every continent.

[@earlydurbz]

My dads seen it clear as day and seen the paw prints (Oxfordshire countryside) but also I can’t believe you guys didn’t put up the best footage I’ve ever seen, it was on a programme that aired on itv (I think) in the late 90’s, the vid showed a very large black cat walking through a corn/wheat field along the tractor tracks and was taller than the crop and had a very long tail, it then leapt over a barbed wire fence with ease (domestic cat would walk through/under the fence) and disappeared in to a wooded area.

[@gjclark2478]

In 2004 mid January I was walking my dog on Roundway Hill in Wiltshire.My dog was in the car as we were driving away to come home, and crossing the track in front of us about 50 yards was a large black cat. It's tail (raised) as it stopped, looked at us then bolted across a field. It's tail was as long as it's body. The one thing I remember we'll was its shoulders, they were big. This was about 4-5years before my first camera phone.

[@westwater73]

92 North Wiltshire.

[@jackbicknell4711]

Absolute nonsense

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

Fantastic sighting. I have seen two now, many years apart. Both Black Leopards.

[@JasonSnow-zq2ve]

We have the same thing in Australia. Nobody official will admit it but in certain areas farmers/vets etc are well aware of big cats living in their areas.

[@UmbraXCVII]

I've been keeping up with this for a long time now, can't wait to give this a watch. Congrats man, well done! 👏

[@Tsokaweosteri]

I have never seen a big cat here in the UK but i have heard one, in Central Scotland. I took my sons over to the end of a field near a gorge to shoot can's with a .22 air rifle. I wanted to teach them how to do this safely.. We sat cans at a massive rock {{ used for backing }}. There had been people walked along a path well behind us and a disused railway, with their dogs. We waited till no-one was around. I fired 3 shots. On the 3rd all we heard and felt was this loud growling from behind the very old, raised railway. I swear the deep/low, yet loud growling, went right through our bodies, we truly 'felt' the growls. I have NEVER felt anything like that in my life and i have been an outdoors person all my life. I got my sons aged approx 10 n 12yrs old behind me. I told them to keep calm, no sudden movements, do NOT run or make any loud noises. I told the boys to watch for ANY movement in front of us as i watched behind and to the sides. I walked backwards, {{ so my sons were behind behind me }} ALL the way, till we got back onto a street. Even then i was still looking behind every few seconds. When it happened i remember thinking, this slug gun wouldn't touch what made that noise. In my mind, i was just going to hit anything that appeared, with the butt of the gun. It would have been totally pointless to fire a .22 slug at it. Whatever made that noise, was big, really big. We got home, i told my friend and they laughed. Because of their reaction, i never told anyone else. Myself and my sons never went over those braes {{ woods }} for years after this. We have never forgot about it as it was terrifying. I have no need to lie, i have no evidence except my 2 son's word and my own. We never made a big thing of it and tbh this is the 1st time i have spoken about it, since my friend laughed. I guarantee you though, she wouldn't have laughed if she had been with us. Funny enough, i then googled big cats Scotland and there had been a sighting of 1, 14 miles from us the previous month. I do believe people are seeing the same big cat or 2, patrolling their territory, 100 miles in either direction. I am very suspicious of some of the things on this video. I honestly think there are set ups, as some things don't make sense. I also find it funny that you guys put a couple of trail cams out, hoping to find a big cat. Cat's as big as what is being spoken about here have huge territories, up to 125 square miles. I doubt sticking 2 camera's out in woods is going to do the job. You need an experienced tracker and hunter to help.

[@johnh539]

I was face to face (Alone)with the Argyll cat (Large male Puma?)20-30ft away at night, but my comment is about a Growl we heard also in Argyll about 13 years later. I had a caravan in the woods and a guest visiting. we where having a Barbecue outside when a growl that could not have come from more than 15m or it would have been on the main Road (Though often quiet) we both felt though this thing was just behind a hedge I had started "Laying" that at its closest was 2m from our fire. While this thing sounded dangerous personally to me it felt more mid sized cat than yours (And my earlier siting). I cant resist adding that I still laugh, my visitor was at the caravan dore in a split second and spent the rest of the night annoyed at me for having staid sitting at the fire.

[@prisonmike1798]

Me and a friend saw one in the early hours of the morning at a hotel on the outskirts of Milton Keynes. We were parked up in the hotel carpark and saw the cat on the edge of the carpark next to the field. I’m fairly knowledgeable about wildlife in general and this was definitely a large black Panther

[@urbanastro4701]

No such animal as a Panther, so definitely talking sh@t

[@k9kingzuk]

@@urbanastro4701it’s been proven by DNA evidence in Cumbria now.

[@AndyWhitty1979]

Really enjoyed watching this. Keep up the good work! Great evidence found. I live by Cannock Chase where there were rumours of big cats but not heard of anything for ages.

[@AZadeh-nd8vx]

They definitely exist, both me and my father have seen one. I saw a puma shaped cat (although it was black) run out around 100 yards ahead whilst driving in the road and have to crouch and duck under a fence railing at least 2ft off the ground in 2004 between Newmarket and Cambridge. My father saw a black panther in the 90's whilst driving at night between Wimbish Army Barracks and Saffron Walden. He say the yellow eyes in his headlights and slowed to a stop about 30 ft from it. It just sat there and snarled silently at the van he was in. He saw it clearly and in full beam lights for a good 10 seconds - a large black panther, no mistaking it.

[@Vikface1978]

The thing is, when setting up those trail cams the area and tree smells heavily of humans. Cats have such a sensitive nose they would smell humans half a mile away and stay well clear. The big cats and even Lynx’s are not stupid.

[@shaunsmith3336]

Driving through Aston/swallownest area on the outskirts of Sheffield in the late 90s,about 3am, I saw what I thought was a black Labrador walking along the pavement,as I got closer and my headlights hit it,it turned to the side, and I could clearly see it was a black panther,it lept over a privit hedge. A few years later in the press,on the front page was a pic of a large black cat,taken in the same area I’d spotted it

[@willmidgley6681]

I grew up just between the lake district and the yorkshire dales, and the farmers there often had sheep killed just like this, skin stripped, choked with neck punctures, and all seemed to be convinced big cats were roaming the area. There are areas around there in the valleys of 20sq miles + of bogs and woodland where you could wander for weeks and not see another human. Lots of deer, sheep and small mammals and lots of small spots to hide in. There can't be a large number of them, but im sure its possible Puma or some sort of black Lynx are out in the UK.

[@Mufcig]

Growing up I was fascinated by big cats, loved them, still do, and I had spent many hours reading about them and looking at them. When I was in the Wyre forest in the Midlands I was on the top of a hill, thick forest either side, but a stretch completely clear of trees from the top to the bottom of the hill. And I saw a huge black cat poke it's head out of the trees on one side, and then leg it across to the other side. When I told others they all asked the same thing: "wasnt it just a big dog?" Nope! Dogs and big cats move very differently, and have VERY different silhouettes, whether it be the protruding shoulder blades, thicker more useable tail, shorter snouts etc etc. No doubt in my mind, I saw a panther.

[@studentatsafari845]

WMSP in wyre forest in Kidderminster have had multiple big cat escapes over the years. It might’ve been an old cat they owned before the zoo was refurbished, just depends what year you saw it

[@serpentini8137]

Interesting documentary lads. It was interesting for me looking at the kills, I've suspected a large cat in my local area for sometime, and have found two kills, a deer with it's back end missing, and a sheep, which looked identical to the one shown here, with it's innards and rib catch missing. I've also seen a large golden beast chasing deer in the long grass, my husband and I initially thought it was a large dog, but agreed it's movements didn't appear dog like at all, it had no bounce. You've inspired me to set up deer cams ;)

[@philcross5861]

Myself an a colleague saw a panther in 2017 in Staffordshire. It was reported in the Burton Mail. We’re both quite big nature geeks and both agreed as to what we saw, no more than 20ft in front of my car. After it happened it became apparent there had been a lot of sightings in the area.

[@Soloman-m8t]

Wow, I live in staffs area, where abouts was it that you spotted it?

[@philcross5861]

@@Soloman-m8t it was on a back road whilst driving from Swadlincote to Wolves, but not too far from Swadlincote.

[@johnmead8437]

A few trail cameras would clarify it.

[@philcross5861]

@@johnmead8437 I’d love to see any footage. The only issue with big cats is they tend to have huge territories

[@johnmead8437]

@@philcross5861 Particularly likely if in low numbers, which puts suspicion on there being a lot of sightings in one area. They are difficult to find usually. The ID issue was recently demonstrated well in NZ. A experienced hunter shot a "juvenile black panther" where they have occasionally been reported (he saw a bigger one earlier), a photo was provided of the large carcass (head detail missing due to familiarity with projectile). A scientist managed to get a sample for DNA test. It was a very large (11kg) adult cat. Which shows the difference between experienced witnesses and scientific confirmation. If panthers were established, spotted ones would be present, carcasses in trees located and dogs be going missing.

[@Sol-Cutta]

What a great docu' esp with all the renewed interest...brilliant work here.

[@justintime1218]

Hey just a heads up.. that predator pee spray you are using is often used to deter predators. E.g Big cats like pumas, Leopards, tigers etc are territorial. And if they smell the scent of another cat which has marked there territory. They will stay clear. So probably a bad idea using that!

[@sham8444]

Mo green got shot in the fucking eye

[@johnmead8437]

Territorial dominant animals re=mark their territory & defend it. Like the dog on the tyres

[@reneesantiago6496]

@@sham8444best movie ever!!

[@angela64355]

Also, they put the cameras in wetlands. Cats don’t lurk in wetlands.

[@donnablack6280]

Angela, funnily enough someone saw a panther in the Pershore wetlands earlier this year.

[@johnbayliss9439]

I came across a large black panther/puma? While cycling in Derbyshire on 9th Sugust 23 5am. It stopped , looked at me and then just walked off. Terrifying.

[@andrewhunter5022]

My friend and I were in a couple of sleeping bags sleeping in the forest near Symonds Yat. in Gloucestershire. I was asleep and she was buried in her sleeping, nothing exposed when she became aware of something near by. She heard it approach and sniff the closed sleeping, and obviously she was shitting herself. After a few moments the animal withdrew, and she found the courage to peak out her bag. She said it was a Labrador sized black cat staring back at her with yellow eyes. Thankfully I slept through the hole thing !!

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

That could have been the Black Leopard Clare Balding saw while recording her' Ramblings ' radio 4 show a few years back. Same part of the world.

[@StarWarsJay]

Great video guys. Really well made. I have some anecdotal “evidence “. In the mid 80s, in a field west of the motorway between Godalming and Guildford, I saw a large black cat. It was walking slowly and at first I thought it was a dog, but then I realised it was a large cat by the way it moved. I was in a moving car, so I only saw if for five to ten seconds . I gave up recounting this story years ago as I soon realised nobody believed me. I know what I saw though. It was 100% a leopard sized black cat.

[@julianwaugh8221]

The Surrey panther!

[@itsoccamsrazor]

So you saw a leopard near Godlaming , bollocks

[@126smiffy]

1987 a few days after the BIG WIND night when huge amount of trees were blown down. I was travelling after coming off the M25 towards Guildford about 40 to 45 mph as a I was towing a trailer with my banger to race at Aldershot. In a field to the left was what I saw running and leaping close to the far hedge was a large black cat with tail. Its agile appearance and size excluded any dogs I could think of. I had driven down from Coventry via motorways mostly so was observing the high level of wind destruction of the trees in that area which was far more that the damage seen in the midlands.

[@S.Trades]

It's certainly possible.​@@itsoccamsrazor

[@Sean_Haywood]

Me and a friend both saw a large black cat, 100% we know what we saw in the village of Borstal in Kent in 2012. This cat was over 5 feet, or 1.5 meters in length and we know this for a fact because it walked directly in front of a parked car at the bottom of a country lane hill. The cat was as wide as the car from head to tail. This was no domestic house pet, this was a large black cat, the walking in front of the parked car is what sold it for us, that's all the information we needed to confirm this cat was definitely over 5 feet long.

[@jackbicknell4711]

Well unfortunately there's no big cats in the UK, so no you didn't

[@Sean_Haywood]

​@@jackbicknell4711Alright mate, no problem, could you perhaps make some suggestions on what else this could have been instead of immediately shutting down the comment with no real argument? You can't just outright deny an argument without bringing your own argument to the table, have a good day 👍🏼

[@jackbicknell4711]

@@Sean_Haywood I don't need much of an argument to refute the the claim that that you saw a black panther in the UK. If there was a black panther in the UK, roaming around near VILLAGES, we would know about it. It would be all over the news because almost every person in the country owns a device with HD recording capabilities. There would be hundreds, even thousands, of photographs. Not only that, mauled, half torn carcasses of livestock would be showing up all over the place, and not just every now and then, to a degree where again it would make headline news and there would be a search. The fact alone that not a soul, not a single soul, has managed to capture a single decent photograph, providing irrefutable proof of a big black cat in the UK is enough for me to discredit the theory altogether. What did you actually see? Who knows? An abnormally large black domestic cat would be my guess.

[@Sean_Haywood]

@@jackbicknell4711 "An abnormally large black domestic cat" I refuse to believe these can grow to over 5 feet in length. There was no false perspective, it was mere meters away, we were slightly uphill, had a perfect vantage point, with very good lighting conditions and we're not in anyway drunk, on drugs or any other impatient.

[@jackbicknell4711]

@@Sean_Haywood Look I admit I can't know for certain, and who am I to tell you what you saw? But can you understand the scepticism. It seems to me obvious, that if there really was a big cat, and the theory is that there are MULTIPLE, even families, in the UK, roaming near villages, we would know. We would have photographic proof. If it turns out to be true I will be gobsmacked. How have these things eluded the mobile phone? Everyone owns one.

[@jonntischnabel]

In the early 90s, i was walking my dog in the clear moonlight. In a nearby field i saw a large black animal, moving swiftly across the open grass. The unmistakable gait of a large cat. By the way, this sighting was approximately 300 metres from the boundary of peak District national park.

[@Natoyarose]

May pay to check out what was being sold on the docks in the 1800's. Melbourne, Australia has newspaper clips of big cats being sold on their docks, so their sightings could well be valid

[@computers2max]

I live in Cornwall and i remember 10 years ago i used to drive a Ambulance that was converted into a Video library. My brother used to sit next to us as we drove around door to door delivering the dvds and video tapes. One evening we were driving a country road nexr Bodmin, and we were chatting along and we both stopped talking as this rather large Cat, Much bigger than a domestic cat was running in the road, or rather leaping, we have rather large Cornish walls in our lanes and it just kept running along the road and then just leaped up onto the cornish wall and went, so fast. We were both very quiet and it made us feel quiet scared and on edge We only had a few hundred yards to travel till the next door we had to call on and non of us wanted to venture out into the dark evening as it was not far away from the sighting. We did mention it to the home owner and they just took it in there stride as many people have seen something similar and they were not fazed by the affair.

[@computers2max]

I did not describe it sorry, it was mottled like a cat, brown color, not black. It was very large like a domestic car but double the size.

[@jackbicknell4711]

Yeah, nonsense

[@tazandtimswildadventures369]

Genuinely not bothered about people that dont believe there are not big cats here, they are here, I am so lucky to have seen one, why would I lie, who am I impressing, no one, around 12/13 years ago in North Cornwall near Polzeath, I was a greenkeeper on a Golf Course and the week previous to the sighting we had a golfer come in swearing he had seen a big black cat on the course, so we all thought 'whatever', never thought nothing about it, but around a week later, myself and two greenkeepers were raking a bunker early in the morning, and I cant remember who saw it first, but we watched a big black cat chasing a deer up a steep hill, tail in the air when it turned on a sixpence, right behind the deer, shoulders were so muscular, we missed it for a second as trees obscured our vision, then it come back again, literally a foot from the deer, both flat out running, like something out of the Serengeti, and then they both went into the gorse undergrowth, and we never saw it again, it was so awesome to see, we all literally were like 'what the f', three of us were literally in awe that morning, and like I said, I was so lucky to have seen it, since then I have had three friends that have not just seen a black cat, but also beige big cats, a friend was out lamping one morning near Padstow with a farmer and saw a big black cat yards from them staring at them and then it jumped a hedge and went, also a friend hunting by Roughtor near Bodmin once saw a big beige cat walking close to a stonewall and also near where I live in St Merryn a holidaymaker told my better half she saw a big beige cat near to where they were staying in a carpark in the early hours.

[@theyliebutwhy8101]

I believe you 100 percent same happend to me I was fishing a lake in derbyshire in summer 2012 and was stalking some carp that were feeding on top ended up in dense bushes under a tree sat silently heard some crunching sounds turned my head and litrely about 12 foot away was a beige brownish cat with pointy ears it was as big as a German Shepard but had a fairly small head was sat. Chewing a large rat I froze in fear it looked directly at me for a few seconds then it bolted for it fast as lightning through some bushes I’ve never seen one before that and I haven’t seen once since I class myself lucky to have seen that so close that day as I doubt many have

[@tazandtimswildadventures369]

@@theyliebutwhy8101 You don't need to explain yourself to people, you saw what you saw, like we both agree on though, incredibly lucky to see it, stay safe

[@shafqatishan437]

@@tazandtimswildadventures369 They bring captive Cougars, Black Panthers and other cats to Britain for masonic lodge parties for some rituals and release them in the open to confuse some public confusion, and then take them away. Hence the cryptology continues.

[@Outta_Towna]

🙌🏼 Epic sighting and what an experience to know exactly what you saw. I too have seen one also chasing a deer 'muntjac'. Saw it for long enough and close enough to identify it 100%. Black panther/melanistic leopard. Fit healthy cat. Witnessed by myself and 3 other people! 🤝🏼

[@jackbicknell4711]

​@@tazandtimswildadventures369stay off the drugs

[@jacko9739]

Me my dad and mum have seen them in Newton solney many times over the years.

[@neniaemm6127]

Saw one once in Essex, close to the Suffolk border whilst out walking my dog sometime in the late 90's. It was just sat chilling in the middle of a crop field close to a wooded area where I'd regularly spot deer, so it clearly had a food supply. The land was owned by a friend of my dad's who said he used to be missing mysteriously live stock if he left them in any of the fallow land close to that wood overnight.

[@Swine-O-Sonic]

i lived in Cairnie by Huntley (aberdeenshire) in the 90's. There was a cat tracked on the local Tv news it was like a cool thing to see everynight as they tracked it straight towards us. The damn thing came straight through our croft. Scared the livestock, my dog and me. something I'll never forget..

[@ebddenby8439]

I saw one in August last year north Lancashire. I was smoking on the doorstep and I saw a dog gallop up the field away from me across the road from me it stopped half way up the field turned to the side and dropped its head to sniff at something in the grass then I noticed it's beautiful black colour rounded head and extreamly long thin tail. I never thought to get a photo of it I just looked in awe I thought I was dreaming. Then it turned round and bound of 30-40 feet in 3 leaps before suddenly stopping and suddenly skulking and looking back at me because it realized I was watching it. But what separated it from a dog was it got down in a small bed of nettles and disappeared looking out at me every few minutes just it's round ears poking out of the nettles. I've never seen it since but I know there was one in the area but I believe it was on the move because. Of all the people venturing into rural areas durin lockdown

[@bodybuildingABC]

wow... thank you for sharing!

[@cs-iu2mo]

Just out of curiosity. What was you smoking ?

[@kolprew5852]

Im from cornwall and we always know there is big cats roaming out there. It dates back to when britain introduced the exotic animal license/permit, many rich people living in cornwall and devon released their animals, theres an estimated 40 or 50 alive

[@georgerear8480]

One of the best docs I've ever seen on the subject- lots of fun! At some point, as an idea, could another documentary be produced from the sceptical side of things? I'm like Cookie- a huge fan of the idea, but a (very interested) doubter- it'd be good to see the sceptical side of the argument discussed in more detail sometime. Great stuff again!

[@tonycritcher3419]

I have seen a lynx running along a wall around a field in Wales. A black leopard crossing the road one evening near Edenbridge in Kent. We lived on a farm a few miles away from there a few years earlier where three young redpoll were found dead next to each other. I found a big cat footprint on the same farm along a badger trail in a wood another time. and about half a mile from there my dog ran off and I heard some bloodcurdling sounds while my dog was barking in a way I had never heard. He came back to my side with such fear in his eyes and his tail between his legs. Something had scared him terribly. A couple of years ago along the A12 between Colchester and Chelmsford, I saw a dead wallaby on the side of the road, along with the usual badgers, foxes, muntjac and pheasants. I enjoyed your video and know these big cats are about.

[@Fledhyris]

I like the way you casually throw in dead wallaby there, even though wallabies also are not native to Britain! I'm not dismissing your anecdote though, far from it; I'm just intrigued to know where the wallaby came from. We had a small population of feral wallabies up here in the Peak District for a while back in the late seventies, presumably after the Wildlife Act, but they died out. But if wallabies are escaping/being released from somewhere, it certainly isn't a stretch of logic to imagine that other animals - such as pumas! - are getting out, too.

[@tonycritcher3419]

@@Fledhyris I've read about the peak district wallabys. I don't know where the dead one I saw came from. At Woburn I saw one outside the enclosure, so even the 'experts can't keep things safely

[@sjrlithics7524]

iv seen 2 of these big cats while out metal detecting in Northamptonshire ...1 was completely black and the other was a creamy beige colour

[@crazee635]

I've seen a huge black cat with cubs in 2003 near Hullbridge in Essex walking through a field going into a woodland next to a rail track. I didn't have a camera but to this day I'm 100% what I saw. The cat had a very long tail and was many more times the size of a domestic cat.

[@ashleynewman4010]

I have seen a black cat around the same time in rayliegh

[@jackbicknell4711]

Absolute nonsense

[@k9kingzuk]

I saw one in Essex around 2014. I was walking back home. We lived in Harold wood. (If you know that area it’s full of deer and they come to our houses all the time). As I was walking towards my house I saw a puma crossing the road from one part of the Forrest path to the park which is a Forrest. I always believed my eyes. The tail is what was undeniable. It was unreal. After that I went down this rabbit hole and was confused upon the ufo style stigma around it. As of now in 2024 it has been proven with dna evidence in Cumbria. It’s clear it’s been know to the authorities for decades but they don’t want to cause panic with a ghost like a leopard to catch.

[@k9kingzuk]

@@jackbicknell4711been proven now.

[@johnnyrollerskates9270]

I enjoyed that. It would have been interesting to look at evidence of big cat escapes from private and public collections relating to the sightings. The general frequency of such escapes, whether the animals are recovered and how long they were at large would have been interesting too. Having said all that, it was a well put together programme that I thought was well balanced.

[@babylonsburning1]

Shocked by the Northants headline at around 6 and half minutes. A long time ago now, maybe,1998. I was walking near Pitsford with the missus, when a large Black Cat, as big as a Lab, with a long tail drooped in the middle came walking from my right across the country lane about 20 feet away. It stopped, turned it's head and looked at me and then just went on across the lane into a field. I told the wife and we jogged down to where it went but it had disappeared into the hedgeline.

[@nigelren3719]

I saw one in the late 80s in Scotland. 5 of us in a car saw it clear as day leap across the road right in front of us on the road over Sheriffmuir just north of Stirling. Unmistakably a black leopard/panther. It was too long and low to be a dog and very big, very quick. It was a cat, a huge black cat.

[@secretsquirrel992]

I saw a leopard sized black cat with a very long tail walking along a hedgeline (so was able to be clear on the size) in the field adjacent to where I lived on the Suffolk/Cambs border. A neighbour to whom I mentioned this told me that about thirty years earlier when he was a teenager, a group of local shooters had driven all the animals out of a local small wood using beaters, of which he was one, and he had seen a big cat flee from the wood. That was only a couple of miles from where I saw the big cat, but about thirty five years apart.

[@ProjectFlashlight612]

Few weird animal mysteries were as spooky as the Surrey Puma. Here in NZ, we get rumours that there are moa birds, who often stood eight feet high and were hunted to extinction centuries ago, still alive in the deep forest of the South Island every few years.

[@S.Trades]

If only there were! That would be amazing!

[@edwardchampion8891]

You never know could well be.

[@johnmead8437]

@@edwardchampion8891Only a couple (at most) less than the elusive british big cat. But that's in the real world, those invading from portals probably supplement the population significantly.

[@johnmead8437]

There are rumours tahr are going to go extinct due to DoC killing them too, likely from the same outdoor user group.....

[@SlackHoffman]

I saw a moa bird 🐦 up on the coromandel it blew me away and sadly nobody would ever believe me !

[@Adjustmentxdisorder]

My dad saw a big cat down Wigmore Lane, Luton late one night whilst walking our dog. He said it was sitting in the middle of the path. The thing that he noticed the most was its size and its fluffy tail. He said it was almost like a raccoons tails and was really fluffy. Some years later myself and a few mates noticed something big walking through long grass while we were climbing and building a tree house in this old oak tree that was at the bottom of a builders yard that was half way up cockenhoe hill. We jumped out the tree and ran for our lives. Have no idea what was making the grass move it was well hidden. The grass was well over waist hieght in length.

[@callum4796]

I grew up on a farm in south Wales and I've seen what I can only describe as a Lynx a few times. The hunters all claimed they'd all seen it too. Grey fur and I thought it was some other animals at first but then it broke the treeline and you could clearly see it was a Lynx. My cousin claims he came face to face with it once too

[@sabineb.5616]

callum, I think that the presence of lynxs could be a good explanation for some of the suspect carcasses which have been found. But I hesitate to call lynxs alien big cats. They are neither especially big nor truly alien. There are many areas in Europe where they have always been or where they have been re-introduced. They used to live in the UK as well, and it has been discussed if they should be re-introduced in order to control local deer populations. It’s possible that some nature lovers introduced a few specimen on the sly, or some escaped lynxs are very much capable to fend for themselves. Lynxs are no danger at all for humans, but they might occasionally kill lifestock. Sightings are very rare because they are so shy.

[@pauldurkee4764]

During the 70s there was a fashion for people to keep exotic pets, as people found out a lot of creatures were unsuitable, its quite possible animals were released. I think if they were re introduced, they would not only reduce the unsustainable population of deer, in the process they wouldn't need to go after farm livestock.

[@sabineb.5616]

@@pauldurkee4764, re-introducing lynxs into certain regions in Europe has indeed been discussed as a possibility for controlling deer populations. And since lynxs prefer to stay in wooded areas it's very unlikely that they will prey extensively on lifestock. And lynxs aren't dangerous for humans. As to other alien big cats - unfortunately it does happen that they either escape now and then, or they are released for various reasons by unresponsible owners. But it's highly unlikely that these animals will establish stable breeding populations. But they may be seen now and then. I wonder if the illicit release of alien big cats is a specific UK and or Australian thing. The ABC phenomenon doesn't exist elsewhere in Europe. Big cats do escape occasionally, but they are normally found, and we don't have numerous eyewitnesses who claim to have seen a big cat. I am also puzzled by the fact that most eyewitnesses in the UK claim to have seen panthers (= black leopards) or pumas, while no one claims to have seen lions or tigers.

[@nospoon4799]

There are loads in Wales in my opinion.

[@sabineb.5616]

@@nospoon4799 , I don't think that Wales has sufficient territory for supporting "loads" of alien big cats 😉 In their natural habitats in Africa, Asia or the two American continents they have thousands of square miles, and their offsprings need to establish their own territories when they are young adults! In the UK there's simply not enough space for breeding populations of alien big cats. But a few escaped big cats here and there are able to fend for themselves for a while. And, as we said, a few lynxs fit in well.

[@WILD__THINGS]

Excellent documentary. The footage near the end of something chasing the deer was very intriguing. I would have liked to see some experts clean up and analyze that footage. I live in South Florida just outside The Everglades and have gone exploring and filming in there for many years. My dream has always been to encounter a Florida Panther. I finally happened across a mother and cub about a year and a half ago but unfortunately I didn't have my camera ready. There are certain places they are known to inhabit and they constantly get captured on trail cams yet in person sightings are very rare. They are extremely illusive. I believe there is a decent chance that there may be a few wild big cats in the UK however I can't imagine so many people would have seen them. And the fact that people usually report black panthers is very telling.

[@joebees21]

I'm open to the idea of big cats living in the UK but in that video don't you think it's just deer chasing another deer?

[@laurenmclain6378]

​@@joebees21Definitely not. It's absolutely a cat, you can see the tail as it turns right to go around and past a tree. It is NOT a deer, that much is definite.

[@johnmead8437]

Florida Panther: elusive British Panther/puma etc: illusive

[@tigerdrake7225]

That dead “lynx” is not in fact a lynx, it’s a bobcat, a smaller, American cousin to the European lynx. The tail color, head shape, body color, facial markings, and size give it away immediately

[@pietropes1322]

Yeh correct. European Lynx are much larger.

[@charlietaylor4835]

Still cool that there is one in the uk

[@FaceFcuk]

​@@charlietaylor4835bobcats run free in Scotland 😂

[@TheRaceSpace]

Big black cats do exist in this country, I seen one in december in North Yorkshire. Was about 06:00 and I was on my way to the Malton Rally there was a car behind me, I seen this animal it was walking along the hedge at the side of the road. At first I thought fox, but as I got closer it was bigger than a fox. And it was jet black, daylight had just broken and the jet black colour stood out. It couldn't have been a dog as it was in the middle of nowhere and no dog walker about. The people in the car behind must of seen it as they suddenly stopped and turned left up the track where the animal went. When I got to the rally I was speaking with a marshal who lived local to the area and I was telling him what I seen. He knew where I had seen it before I told him and he said "I see them all the time" I was shocked at how calm he was when he said that.

[@naturephotography8837]

I saw a large black cat the size of an adult male leopard or jaguar walking along the edge of a field near reading in berkshire in 2006. No mistaking what it was since i am a nature photographer who has travelled across asia and africa and seen big cats in the wild. My mother saw a similar cat near slough in berkshire a few years back. Her friend saw what she called a 'skinny lioness' (puma) in windsor in 2003.

[@AA-zg1nu]

Saw a large black cat about 28 years ago whilst bunking school in penge South London it was laying on top of a garage at stood up I got mocked for years by mates until it appeared in the newspapers the sun and my phone went wild with calls

[@analiensaturn]

I was gamekeeper for the area encompassing Moss Plantation Knowsly. In 2004 I was in camo waiting for a barn owl to do his round of hedgerows. It was pre twilight so enough light to see vlearly. Rabbits were already on the fallow field feeding. Then i saw a large cat like animal with a very long tail. It was all black and had the head of a panther. I know the area very well, over 40 years. I could tell its size from the background and it was a good 5 to 6 feet. I never went in the woods again of a night after that. I only told my wife.

[@firesha-x]

Hi was that area in knowsley Merseyside? Thanks.

[@firesha-x]

Hi was that area knowsley in Merseyside? Thanks.

[@andycopland3179]

I hate to peddle to the crazies, so I'm reluctant to even mention it but I'm 99% sure I seen one. I'm an avid outdoorsman, but this was seen at work in Cambridgeshire. It was the time of the year when the sun was rising around 0600 (April i believe) and i used to sleep at work in the countryside. My favourite thing to do was wake up, grab a coffee, grab a smoke and step in the garden that overlooks all the field's to watch the sunrise. Usually with a soft mist for that time of year, but this morning was clear. I seen a big black object walking a few hundred metres away, along a line that would have divided two fields and had a small line of trees (only 3 or 4). I spent minutes wrapping my brain around it because it moved like a feline, but was too big. My brain was literally struggling to process what it was as I'm quite logical in my thinking. I came to no other conclusion than a big cat.

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

Don't worry!. They definitely exist. I have seen two now, several years apart in the West Midlands. Both were Black Leopards.

[@jackbicknell4711]

Steady on the drugs, pal

[@andycopland3179]

@@jackbicknell4711Science has confirmed that big cats exist in the UK via DNA testing.

[@pocketoperatorjams98]

There's definitely big cats roaming the British country sides. A law that was past stopped people owning large wild animals in the 70's. Many of the rich owners let them free instead of killing them. I grew up in the Midlands in the countryside and I have family members who came face to face with them. A sheep's remains were found 20 feet up a tree with huge cat like prints near by.

[@judyparsons1333]

I will tell everyone to leave them alone they haven't killed anyone,it will just encourage people to hunt them

[@SueMyChin]

Yet, no evidence... Imagine that.

[@johnmead8437]

@@SueMyChin Yes, difficult to understand why the sheep remains wasn't photographed, and authorities given the information & chance to investigate, because after all it would have had definitive DNA on it. But sometimes suchlike gets overlooked if outta your tree.

[@SueMyChin]

@@S.Trades Hearsay. Nothing more.

[@SueMyChin]

@@S.Trades Hearsay.

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

30:24, the cat chasing the deer, what county is that in please so that i know where NOT to go camping! You can see what looks like a tail in a couple of frames.

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

Forest of Dean i believe. Gloucestershire borders with South Wales.

[@serenaaltea755]

Considering the UK was part of the Roman Empire and these animals were kept as pets by the elite it doesn’t surprise me that their descendants exist. We have big cat sightings her in Australia as well.

[@paulahurst4434]

Also in the US

[@uselesspilgrim5976]

Brilliant work lads. I've had a really really great time ' walking ' with you. Was so happy when I found out part 2. Bless everyone.

[@noelbodle8863]

I’ve always been intrigued about large cats living in the UK, It started when I was at school and I read Colin Dann’s book the Siege of White Dear Park part of the Animals of Farthing Wood series if anyone knows of it. I was always on the lookout when visiting Dartmoor with my parents while on holiday but obviously never saw anything. But just a few years ago some thirty or more years later I did actually get to see my first wild cat, not a black leopard (unfortunately) but a lynx and I’m absolutely sure of it. It was while driving home from a friends in the evening. I saw movement on the side the road obviously a animal of some kind so I slowed up as I have a habit of near misses with animals fairly regularly as I commute early to work and often see Badgers, Foxes and Deer. This was clearly not one of those. I only witnessed it for a few seconds before it entered the undergrowth. But it was clearly fairly stocky, flat faced, had a stubby tail, pointy ears and light in colour I just can’t see I mistook it for anything else I had clear sight of it in my headlights and only being twenty foot or so from it. I’m sure of what saw was a very healthy looking Lynx. Anyway it made my day…

[@JonnyMack33]

There's been a recent sighting and picture taken of a big black cat in the UK.. it's unequivocally a panther.

[@sandieknudsen9794]

Definitely a breeding population of puma. My ex husband witnessed one in 2006, clearly visible and scaleable, sadly no photo. Then in 2021 he saw another - again very clearly (sadly no photo). But the two sightings were only 400m apart. Highly unlikely to be the same animal. I myself have seen a black leopard on two separate occasions, in rural Perthshire. The first time was in daylight about 6am, was very clearly a very large animal, sleek, with an extremely long tail. I could easily judge the scale by how it bounded onto the road in front of my car, across the road, and up a high embankment and over a fence at the top. The second time, it was at night, and again it bounded onto the road in one leap, then another leap it was off the road and away into the forest. It was certainly not a dog. Both times they occurred, were before camera phones.

[@jackbicknell4711]

Nonsense

[@sandieknudsen9794]

@@jackbicknell4711 Well I was stone-cold sober, and it was broad daylight when I saw a black leopard cross the road in front of me. I know what I saw. You believe what you want. However, there is now DNA evidence which proves that black leopard is in Scotland.

[@sandieknudsen9794]

@@jackbicknell4711 You believe what you want. I know what I saw.

[@jomac6004]

I remember going to half penny ... A cordened gate... There were no birds. Quiet. It felt creepy. We couldn't get out fast enough.. then, when leaving we saw " warning, big cats been active here". X

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

Where is Half Penny ?

[@stephmorgan7444]

Montana resident, and wild game hunter. It's possible you have some or a breeding population of lynx, in my opinion, in the UK. The public are unlikely to notice rabbit carcasses nor are they likely to be in remote places where these cats would prefer to hunt at night. Mountain lion/Puma? Not so likely. Your red deer population is closely monitored, so you are definitely not losing enough red deer (whose carcasses are later seen in trees- usually in the autumn when the natural leaves die back- can you imagine the British public's reaction to just one such sighting? I saw in the news the other day that residents of England called 999; and not just a few- over a 100! because it was snowing and they heard snow thunder... ) and the odd sheep is definitely not enough food to sustain a single puma over the year, nevermind a breeding colony. In Montana we get the odd wolf attack on sheep/cattle, and the wolf is often hunted down and dispatched with. If your farmers had dozens of sheep going missing over a year, they'd know about it. A black leopard can live up to 18 years I'm told, so it's possible a released 'pet' was sighted for many years after it's release. Just my thoughts, though!

[@Raven-qj8xk]

You are likely correct, yet our red deer population isn't monitored nationwide, there are thousands roaming free all over the country near me and are good hunting and eating for humans and dogs, we also have a huge fallow deer population, roe deer, muncjack deer, wild goats, wild ponies and wild cattle! I would find it hard to believe a genetically diverse breeding population of big cat could build from a single pair released in the 1970's..... puma could sustainably hunt and survive if re-introduced tho.

[@JC_303]

We are a pretty small country in the grand scale of things, almost half the size of California. If we had a big cat population we would know about it, our woodlands are small and well travelled. As much as I would love to have some larger animals in the UK it is unlikely we have any (other than deer).

[@rialobran]

I'll start by saying the Red Deer population certainly isn't closely monitored, the herds near me aren't hunted or looked after in anyway. This maybe different in Scotland, but that's a long way from the Devon and Cornwall border. I'm an experienced outdoorsman, if you watch my channel you'll see that, I can safely say with confidence there are no leopards of any kind in the UK, I've spooked a leopard on a mountain in Africa, I'd have spooked hundreds on a small island. Nor are there pumas, mountain lions, jaguars or any of the big cat species, living wild with a breeding population. Now, are there lynx? I have travelled Dartmoor National Park for over 35 years. This year was the first time I have ever seen a hare, in fact I saw 2. So could a small, shy feline live unseen in the British country? Yes. With the odd siting, which there are. I have a photo of a print I took just last week, my initial thoughts are it's a cat, but I can't be 100% certain I know Montana fairly well, the last time I was there I climbed in the Bridger Mountains just out of Bozeman (October 2019) As we got on the trail from the carpark we came across bear scat, now bear are a passion of mine so I recognised it for what it was, my Montanan friends had no idea. As we climbed I filmed as I always do, I stopped to take some film of a small herd of Mustangs on a far hill, my friend pointed out a herd of elk on another hill, as I looked down at my camera something caught my eye. It was a large cinnamon bear and her cub not 250ft away. The point I am making is that even though we knew there were bear in the area 3 of us could easily have walked by 2 bears without noticing. A mountain lion had been seen on the mountain the week previously, I didn't see it nor any sign of it. I have no doubt there are small 'big' cats in the UK, I've seen a serval myself. There certainly are none of the 'bigger' cats breeding here.

[@Raven-qj8xk]

@@rialobran Getton me beauty 'andsome!😇 I've a feeling we know the same places! Dartmoor was where I skinned and cooked my first rabbit as a child(nr Foxt tor), hiking, camping and horse trekking, the light is so special there, it has my heart. Love animals and all nature, I only hunt for food but think its important to keep the old skills alive. Looking forward to watching your channel. Subscribed!👍

[@rialobran]

@@Raven-qj8xk Thank you, I know Fox Tor well, I often stay at Nuns Cross farm.

[@ahar7624]

Last year me and the kids were on holiday on exmoor, and on the first night as dusk came in we were driving back from the nearest town and saw a big cat seeming to be stalking a fox, it was near the tar steps

[@karateprincess1]

The outtakes were hysterical 😆😆 great documentary. I have seen a mountain lion near my rural home. I have recently watched Ross Kemp: Britain's Tiger Kings, you would not believe how easy it is to get your hands on a big cat despite the dangerous animal act. I believe it was a pet once as mountain lions are popular exotic pets.

[@gazzy9136]

There’s reports of farmers having illegal big cats, so there’s no doubt some have escaped over time

[@caroldixon3251]

Seen and heard a large black cat in the new forest while walking with my parents and dogs on 3 separate occasions. Bloody scary.

[@hypotheticalbrother1372]

Good job guys. I can tell you poured a lot into this.

[@dannybamping5058]

😂

[@barbaraharris7004]

About 20 years ago I was with my neighbour just going to go up Stickwick hill into Hennock [ a small village on the edge of the Dartmoor Park] and to my left was a large field with what at first glance I thought there's a naughty dog skulking home I bet he's been chasing sheep ,then stopped the car that was not a dog it's a cat slinked along like a cat ,.I have had a lot to do with German Shepherds so know movement ,had a good clear view as we watched it walk slowly and deliberately across the field I felt it knew it was being watched we kept watching for about 75 yards then it walked up the side of the hedge , it was about the size of a smallish German Shepherd and looked black, but someone else had seen it a little further up the road run out from the copse it was in their headlights and said it had a brindle head. Also seen at the other end of the village.

[@harmionaniki]

Yet to be Wildlife Manager here! So I'm from Hungary, we do have an active Lynx population of like around a 100 individuals, they're a constant breeding population but these animals (and wild cats in general) are very secretive; and even tough our population is pretty dense they're still a rare sight to behold! In Brittain (which in area is already larger than what we have here) I can imagine a very small population (a bit like what we have here), because these animals live in solidarity that's why you wouldn't find like 3-5 in an area but one and that one might even be a very careful one So in short I find it pretty believable About the jaguars and puma tough, maybe there was once a couple of them being released and slowly dying off in the years, some might even survive but the thing is that by now they're most likely gone The one on the trail cam footage is most likely a big black cat tough, there's no doubt about it! Same for the individual hit by a car

[@randomguy-hs3px]

Whilst Hungary has a not so different landscape to the UK i think the biggest flaw in this theory is population density around 6-7 times Hungary for only around 2.5 x the landmass. Personally i dont believe a population of lynx could sustain themselves

[@S.Trades]

​​​​@@randomguy-hs3px why not? Are rats and rabbits suddenly very rare? Pheasants, woodpigeons and we have oodles of foxes and deer!

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

Worcestershire had a lot of sightings going back many years. It still does!. Evesham area especially.

[@jobeblogs4539]

100% real, I saw one in a field as I drove to Cornwall from Bristol back in 2011. It was a large black cat, I said to my mum who was driving and she told me it was just a myth! I had never heard of it and that's how I discovered the tale. She asked if it was a cow but I know 100%, it was a big black cat!

[@theparrishshow9803]

You guys are talking about big cats but you’re forgetting that there are already several big cats in the world, pumas, panthers, lions, tigers, cheetahs etc.

[@calebflatt8479]

@@theparrishshow9803 yes but not in the UK

[@jimslater8685]

@@calebflatt8479 Allegedly

[@rocket3254]

My husband and I saw one in Norfolk near Middleton. Black panther type thing in the woods.

[@jimbob8925]

Met a man who cleans ovens. Dose wildlife photography as a hobby. Showed me some photos of a puma in a graveyard in Oxfordshire near Witney ways....insane

[@johndew8947]

There is one in Epping forest always loads of dead deer with holes in the neck up there

[@anitamckinlay9308]

Watching this now because yesterday my partner and l saw what we believe was a puma in the field behind where l live in Clearwell Gloucestershire. I have only lived here since beggining of Lockdown and have only found out since yesterday that they have been seen in the very close proximity in recent years.

[@86Smally]

We know snow leopards exist, we know where they live and yet it can take months and months to actually spot or film one.

[@skip3760]

Euromillions

[@skip3760]

😮

[@skip3760]

dv 😊

[@redboyjan]

There is plenty of evidence of them though. These uk panthers aren't leaving any

[@k9kingzuk]

@@redboyjanit was proven in 2024 in Cumbria with dna evidence. The government has known about them for years. They don’t want to cause panic with an animal that’s a ghost to find. It always amused me this topic was treated as a conspiracy theory. That’s usually a good tail something fishy is going on

[@williamrae9954]

He/she keeps moving, never stops in the same place...i was following ours for a bit,it travels 100s of miles

[@ambientdisposition7380]

im a regular camper hiker i did not believe these story's as iv spent a lot of time in remote woods and hills, seen few random things but could be explained. 3 years ago in Yorkshire we was camping and early hours they was some kind of big cat like prowling round the camp it was next to my tent and woke me up, the dog i was with was shacking in fear and this was a brave dog. i was petrified and froze in the tent i know it was not a dog, me and my friend finally started shouting and and screaming banging pans, we heard it growling not like a dog but a cat like, after some time we got out the tent to see a big cat like animal walking away i never been back there or camp in the wild again

[@jb6368]

what random things ? just curious

[@richarddavis9966]

Well if you dont believe it after what you have described, when will you believe it? When one is chewing on your foot? 😂

[@ambientdisposition7380]

@@richarddavis9966 lol iv started to believe thats why im not going back their

[@ambientdisposition7380]

@@jb6368 m8t iv herd animal noises iv not herd before in my life, seen dead deer riped apart and the guts was gone but the rest was still there dont know what english wild animal could do that, seen a lot of random lights in sky and stuff. most of the animal experiences all happen around a town called ilkley in Yorkshire. have u had any experiences

[@richarddavis9966]

@@ambientdisposition7380 i think id have to go back in the day and have a good look round, id have to know what it was lol.

[@lluecaradoc]

I saw a Lynx just outside Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales around 12 years ago.

[@lluecaradoc]

@SuperCars-gi5qm only the one?

[@ldm7532]

100% out there .seen with my own eyes when out fishing. It was a black leopard no more then 20ft away in the corn field chasing a rabbit .the same cat was spotted agane a few weeks later .it is one of them things you don't really believe it till you see it yourself.

[@lucasburrows6143]

I saw a massive cat the size of of a Labrador thst was running across the field in Wakefield and me and my whole family saw it and we all couldn’t beleive what we had seen. The way it ran so swiftly and how its tail moved with it. It was without a doubt not a cat or a dog.

[@razworthers_3601]

My Grandad worked on a farm when he left the army at 24 years of age, he was originally from London but moved upto Yorkshire to live free in a farm house as a way of paying rent he worked for free in the farm. One night my grandad had to rush out with the farmer as the German shepherd was going wild constantly barking. The dog ran to the sheep shed and my grandad said it froze with hair spiked up from head to tail and barked constantly. My grandad looked up around to where the dog was barking and there was 2 glowing eyes mid way up a 20 foot tree. My grandad turned to the farmer and he told him it was a leopard , he told him there's 2 in the area and the locals had also spotted cubs. The farmer the next night left out a weak sheep and my grandad told me you could hear the sheep scream as it was getting mauled by the leopard. The next morning they went back to the field but nothing of the body was left just blood and wool. 4 hours or so pass and the postoffice shop owner had found the sheeps body just of a walk way about 1/2 a mile away from where it was killed, clearly a cat dragging the food back to its den for the young. My grandad told me it was normal for the locals to see the cats. After time tho he noticed sightings where not as often, unfortunately police and armed police had started circling the village and the villagers belive the police where the ones that had either scared them of killed them or even caught them.

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

A fascinating account!. Many cases of Cubs being seen, so breeding is not a problem. I saw a Black Leopard many years ago. I know of several reliable people and family that have seen them over many years.

[@razworthers_3601]

@@edwardtreadwell3859 I truly wish they are out there but from what I have heard over the years is that most that where let free over the dangerous wild act as soon as sighting got reported police either killed or captured. I'm not say they are not there but If there is its just a small population with no real breading pairs to grow the population just the odd pet let free that someone cannot afford to keep no more. I reckon no more than 10 if there out there and most likely they will die never seeing each other to breed a sustainable population

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

These cats were in the UK long before the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act came in, although that certainly boosted their numbers. Many were released by US troops stationed in the UK in World War 2. They brought them over as platoon mascots. Many were also released in that war by British private keepers unable to find and obtain food for the cats. There are probably 400 to 500 in the UK currently. Every county has sightings. Many reports of cubs too.

[@LizRoe-ky4hr]

I worked night shifts so I found it hard to sleep on my nights off.It was a stifling summers night I had swung open the casement upstairs windows & was just leaning out.Between 3-4 am I saw a jet black animal come up & stand in the middle of the road.It looked about the size of a our family black Labrador, I thought it odd it didn’t notice me starring down at it.Leaning out further under the street light I could see it distinctly had the face of a cat & more the body shape of a cat!! I thought wow they have bloody big Tom cats in London.I did see it again same time of night, as a child my brother was a volunteer at the Zoo I went with him visiting at the Zoo a lot.It reminded me distinctly of a black Jaguar that was housed there but not so large.Within a week in the local paper in South London there was a report about several sightings of the self same animal I had seen.Reports speculated it was living on the abandoned railway tracks locally.Now this really got to me because the direction this animal came from was the road that ran down from our house to the unused tracks in question!! This was in 1987 in South London, I think realistically it was an exotic pet dumped & was fending for itself, no one was on the overgrown unused tracks plenty of cover & safety & at the most quiet time of the night it was out hunting & just sauntering about!!

[@peripheralsapien8491]

Perhaps 22-23 years ago I was fishing boscathnoe reservoir, Cornwall, winter time, as it was just getting light so probably 7:30ish, my friend and I seen a big cat walking up a hedge line for around 50 yards before jumping over the hedge into the next field and out of sight. Definitely puma like in appearance

[@suziedarcy2856]

Fantastic documentary lads, It gives a lot to think about on both sides of the argument, Thank You.

[@thezanzibarbarian5729]

Go back to about 1986. So this would have been 10 years after the 1976 change to the regulations and law on keeping these exotic, dangerous pets. I was 25. It was about 00:30hrs and it was a warm, early Autumn night. I was driving home in Worcestershire, heading to Warwickshire where I lived. I was in my MG Midget with the roof down because it was such a lovely night. In a small Worcestershire village, I made a righthand turn and was driving out of this village when I noticed that the car's headlights had picked up some animal running along the middle of the road. It was dark, black/brown in colour and larger than an Alsatian. I was only 50 or 60 yards from it and for a split second, it stopped running and turned to look at me. I can still see it's yellow eyes. Then it ran to the left of me and into the high hedging where there was a gate, and vanished. But was it a _Big Cat_ or not? All I can say is this. It was 100% not a dog. I've had an Alsatian and other dogs and other family members have had other dogs including Labradors and this was not dog like. It was very _feline_ in it's movements and appearance. Those yellow eyes. But spookiest of all was this. I can still recall that the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I can't explain why. It was almost like a primal instinct of humans when they suddenly and unexpectantly came into contact with a large predator. I'm not saying it was a _Big Cat,_ but I know what it wasn't and I know the effect it had on me.

[@jeffheineken6709]

I’ve had the same, I think you know it was a cat. First thing happened with me was all my hairs as it stared at me…🥶🥶🥶

[@edwardtreadwell3859]

A great recollection of the night and experience you had. It obviously had a big impression on your life to remember it so clearly after all those years. I had a clear sighting of a Black Leopard or, as i referred to it at the time, Panther, 21 years ago. Broad daylight, sunny conditions and those yellow staring eyes!!. Yes, i had the hairs stand up too!. On a visit to an Aunt & Uncle living in Worcestershire, a few miles north of Evesham, i told them of my experience. To my astonishment they said they often saw Black "Panthers ", usually very early mornings, and even with Cubs on at least one occasion. Also they had a large tree opposite their house, about 70 yards away, where the cat would often be seen sleeping across a branch during the day!. They lived on the edge of fields in a very rural area.

[@thezanzibarbarian5729]

@@edwardtreadwell3859 Great story. And in some way, scary too. 52° 5'40.34"N 1°53'41.90"W Put that into google Earth. That's where _MY_ sighting was. The building's on the left were not there then 8-))...

[@thezanzibarbarian5729]

@@jeffheineken6709 It's the _hairs on the back of the neck_ thing. 8-((... Such a primal reaction to danger.

[@gigagamerYT]

Me and 2 colleagues saw a very large black cat walking along the middle of a hedge in 2022 in east Devon nr Honiton. There's been lots of other sightings by well respected people in the area over the years

[@davidprocter3578]

I live in Norfolk never seen one, have tracked them in soft ground and found scat. My next door neighbor saw one very local, she may be right I could not say but the following day my wife walking past the same spot said our spaniel glued himself to her side [very unlike him] became wild eyed and furtive. Not exactly convincing I know, might help if I tell you I grew up in the African bush and know the difference between cats and dogs tracks and scats.

[@fiveleavesleft6521]

I have found what seemed to be perfect puma prints both near Worstead and Happisburgh.

[@wesleyAsh1]

Runcorn, Frodsham, Helsby has had many sighting over years, recently too...

[@Fragrant_Digits]

For any watching more recently, DNA has been documented. They do exist here.

[@Nick-e8y]

In October 1998, while out duck shooting on a friends farm about 4.30 to 5pm, i.e. late afternoon but still daylight, I had a close encounter with a black leopard! It was only about 35yards away. Completely "black" but for the neck & head, which were of a normal buff "yellow" with dark spots as per normal leopard colouring. I would say it was a fully grown specimen.

[@Nick-e8y]

And, (Sir) Benjy Slade lives about a mile south of where I reside.

[@ajmpestcontrol1900]

There are definitely big cats out there I live on a farm and about 8-9 years ago we had a dead chicken on the lawn that had been completely stripped, some might say a fox but I've seen fox kills and it wasn't a fox, the same night my mum heard what she described as a raw so I played her the sound of a black panther and straight away she said that was it. The other thing was footprints the stride length was 4ft walking what ever it was had been chasing something properly the chicken and when it was running the stride length was 6foot. At the time we had a rottweiler and we compared her feet too the foot prints and it was more than double her print. Definitely something weather there are breeding pairs or not. I have also seen a large cat print up in Scotland just out side Dundee.