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BIG CATS IN THE UK ??

lol said:
The best childhood......west African bush................ :)
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Awesome, I was 54 when I went to Africa for the first time, been to five African countries now, Mozambique, South Africa, Lesotho, Tanzania and Swaziland. We were planning to go to SA, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia last year, still hope to go at sometime.

If ever a place gets under your skin........It’s Africa, just love it! 👍
 
You asked for it! 😂🤣

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I don’t actually know any of you as yet, but I have looked through some of the meet up photos. Who does this remind you of?

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Nope.......no bigs cats there..................................:sad:
 
Hi folks

Interesting topic. Sorry I missed it. I reckon the chance of large cats surviving in the wild -even in a densely occupied country like UK -are high.

Would love to hear more about peoples experiences. Back in the day I used to trap Leopards in the wild, so I'm interested in and respectful of big cats.... at least more so than The Boy! 🤣

I've seen bigger cats that those Leopards here on my property. Just feral cats but over several generations they breed large. But really hard to see. I find kills occasionally, iviscerated roos and pug marks, but in more than a decade have only actually seen cats three or four times. They are incredibly good at hiding and remaining unseen. I've only seen a puma sized cat twice. My wife saw it too, I wasn't mistaken.

Only way I know cats are lurking about is The Boy, who knows everything happening on the property. Cats can hide themselves but not their scent. When he crosses a cat trail he's off in pursuit. I sometimes wonder what would happen if he ever chased one of those mountain lions? Cats, even big ones would run until cornered, its their nature, and The Boy would never back down from a fight, regardless of the size of his opponent, its his nature.

I hope it never happens!

Cheers

Alan
 
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Gulfalan67 said:
. Just feral cats but over several generations they breed large.
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very interesting point that !
That could very well be the answer over here Alan.... domestic cats breeding with the wild cats could brood a larger cat 🤔 would explain most sightings to be honest.


watched a program once about big cats in the uk, a very interesting point was made, the gentleman said it’s highly likely that’s there was big cats in the uk at one point because of people letting them lose when new laws came into play also escaped cats from the zoo .... however one extreme winter would have killed most if not all ! Makes perfect sense to me, but there are exceptions to every rule lol
 
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Cross breeding of feral domestic cats and the Scottish Wildcat is proving a huge problem with genotype................
 
You guys remind me that unlike Australia, UK has native wild cats which may be part of this picture.

Cats are incredible. As I mentioned in my earlier post, being nocturnal they can live in landscapes virtually undetected unless you know their signs or have a cat-detecting dog.

Case in point. An absolutely true story that occurred in Cameroon some years ago.

Somebody on the outskirts of Bipindi spotted a Leopard going through the bins on the edge of town at night. The authorities were informed, local radio broadcasts were made to warn the population to stay indoors and consultants were brought in to catch the rogue animal that had strayed into human habitat.

Traps were put out in the district surrounding where the cat had been sighted. In the first few nights no less than four Leopards were trapped! They were coming into town regularly at night and interacting as part of the urban landscape. Just nobody ever saw them...

As ambush predators cats are very good at keeping out of sight. Mostly humans don't know they're around. Which is why I suggested in my first post its possible that large cats coexist with people in UK like they do in many places....

The growing coverage of CCTV cameras and such might begin to reveal them in future....

Alan
 
There is a place in India where this happens more than was originally understood to happen, but so far it has caused no problems and has been allowed to continue unmolested..........
 
lol said:
There is a place in India where this happens more than was originally understood to happen, but so far it has caused no problems and has been allowed to continue unmolested..........
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LOL, quite right.
The ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute) in Nairobi used to be a farm in the bush, but as the city grew around it, it became a few big open paddocks surrounded by the teeming ghettos of a mega city.

There were a bunch of scrawny cattle and goats there for experimental purposes. They were regularly attacked by leopards at night and some of the stock carried big scars on their hides...

The Leopards came into the city. God only knows why!

Large wild cats roaming the UK countryside is not so far fetched....

Alan
 
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This place is far too crowded I reckon, save possibly the odd one.........I would love the frisson of a lynx/bobcat or wolf in the woods when out walking or canoeing...... :thumbsup: :rofl:
 
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