Accounts of big cat sightings have been reported in the British Isles for over 40 years. What are people seeing? Are these cases of escapees from a zoo or circus or simply mistaken identity? What evidence do we have that these animals exist?
The Sightings
The Surrey Puma: The term “surrey puma” is used to describe big cats sighted in south-east England, of which there have been several.
In July of 1962, an animal described as a “young lion cub” was observed in Hampshire. The witness, a local water board official, stated that the animal was light brown in colour, with large paws and a flat face. It measured 18-24” in height. A second sighting was reported a month later by another water-board official.
Fast-forward to the summer of 1963. A man driving though the south-east part of London on July 18 thought he saw an injured dog lying beside the road. He stopped to investigate and realized that he was observing a large cat instead! The creature bounded off into the night. In the same area, a “large, golden animal” was seen leaping over the hood of a police car.
The ensuing search (involving more than 150 searchers and 20 dogs) found nothing except some 7”-wide tracks. The fact that claw marks were found with the tracks led some to speculate that the animal in question was a cheetah, since other big cats do not have claws that are permanently extruded.
The Nottingham Lion: Two milkmen reported seeing a lion on July 29, 1976. The beast was spotted in a field close to the Nottingham Airport. 65 more sightings were reported over the next eight days. After that point, it appeared that the animal had just disappeared.
The Isle of Wight Puma: 23 reports of a puma on the Isle of Wight were filed during the period from May - October 1983. The colour of the cat's coat was describe by various witnesses as red, golden brown, silver, grey, or black. All in all, the feline was spotted more than 120 times by September 1985.
Images of strange felines in Britain have been caught on tape from time to time as well. In September, 1999, a black cat described by the RSPCA was filmed in Shropshire at a brickmaker's yard. A similar animal was picked up by a security camera at a garden centre in Kettering the year before.
Our look at Big Cats in Britain will continue in my next article.
