A few years ago, anyone who reported seeing a "big cat" roaming the countryside would have been the butt of pub jokes.They would have been told they were imagining things, had simply seen a domestic cat, fox or some other familiar animal under difficult lighting conditions - or, more frankly, that they were lying.Today, however, that attitude is gradually changing - thanks mainly to the work of the Dartmoor-based British Big Cats Society (BBCS), whose twin aims - to "prove and protect" - are to establish beyond all reasonable doubt that exotic felines really do roam our countryside and prevent them from being shot on sight.A staggering 1,077 sightings were reported in 2002 alone, plus a further 679 sightings from previous years. Scotland was the leading hotspot with 209 reports, followed by Devon with 97, Kent with 92 and Wales with 86.Now in its fourth year, the BBCS strongly believes that this is only the tip of the iceberg, that big cats are being seen much more often than was previously thought. Society officials estimate that for every sighting made public, a further three or four are never reported.Last year was an "extraordinary year," according to BBCS founder Danny Bamping, a 29-year-old wildlife cameraman based in Plymouth.

Figures for 2003 are to be published at the end of this month and data collected have been vast, due to the number of external contributors, such as the National Farmers' Union (NFU) RSPCA, wildlife trusts, several police forces and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).Bamping, who has been investigating the big cats of Britain for 10 years, says he is delighted with the fact that Defra invited the BBCS to give a presentation on big cats last month - "Several DEFRA employees came forward and disclosed their own sightings" - and that the NFU has pledged its support for the society's work.

View: Full Article | Source: Financial Times

A friend of mine has seen a big black cat, he lives in the country. He is a very down to earth person and he just couldn't believe what he saw, his neighbor has seen it several times and they have thought about going to the sherif. This is in the states.

Despite "the experts'" contention that big cats do not exist in the U.S., truth says otherwise. They are seen here in middle Georgia and the rest of the State, I'm sure, as well.

One lady took the trash out to the receptacle in the backyard only to discover a black panther standing on its back feet leaning on the trash can on its front paws looking for a scrap buffet. Needless to say, removal of that day's trash suddenly seemed not to be so significant.

Someone else's backyard serves an intersection for black panthers on their nightly forays. I've heard from/about others who've encountered black panthers in this area.

Yes, whenever, I see big cats on tv they are always in Britain. I didn't know the experts said they weren't here in the USA!

well i live in scotland and i have seen them and so have a few neighbours

The clinching factor for many people in Britain "coming around to the idea" was Chris Packham's unemotional review of the situation in series looking into so-called mythical beasts in the late 1990's.

For me the proof came in the form of my (then) 9 year old (in 2000) seeing the creature from our attic window, cross our garden & head into our neighbour's! I would point out we live in Leicester! Whilst the back gardens here are substantial, (30ft by 300ft is the norm, and we therefore have about ten acres in the area behind our house in the triangle made by the roads), it's hardly rolling countyside. We are about a mile and a half from open fields.

My daughter is very used to seeing our dog, (a small lurcher), foxes and neighbouring cats, but insists that this creature was far larger. She had never seen a "big cat" in real life so discribed it as twice as big as a friend's alsatian.

There have , I beleive, been several sightings in nearby countryside, but this was a bit too close for comfort.

Our local vet has some interesting stories to tell too, of remains of domestic pets, not killed by dogs or pussies!