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How a big cat roamed Britain a century ago


Still Waters

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A new study has proved the carnivorous Canadian lynx roamed here at the turn of the 19th century after the beast's remains were unearthed in the vaults of a museum.

A team of scientists from four leading British universities said the find is the earliest example of an "alien big cat" in the country.

They analysed the creature's skeleton and mounted skin to uncover "concrete evidence" that exotic big cats lived here earlier than previously thought.

http://www.telegraph...entury-ago.html

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In the laboratory, tests on the specimen's bones and teeth showed it had been kept in captivity long enough to develop severe tooth loss and plaque.

It then escaped or was deliberately released into the wild

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So the likely story is it was brought here and kept as a pet and then (as above) released or escaped, which is the most likely explanation for all the other big cats sighted, cos they sure are not native. But the roamed bit is not conclusive as it is not know how long it was free before it was shot, it may have been shot the next day or even same afternoon.

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So I see your headline on the upper right corner of my screen and my first thought was.... probably on all four paws. :P

I agree with Freetoroam's assessment of it being a released "pet".

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If these big cats can survive in the wild in the UK given the opputunity they may also breed forming viable populations over the years and hide from human searchers.

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Alien to the planet or the UK? Whichever knowing the rich as we do i'm sure they were keeping exotic pets from all 4 corners of the empire and i guess some escaped their cages and all wild cats are clever enuogh to keep their heads down so i'm sure they would've survived

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Alien to the planet or the UK? Whichever knowing the rich as we do i'm sure they were keeping exotic pets from all 4 corners of the empire and i guess some escaped their cages and all wild cats are clever enuogh to keep their heads down so i'm sure they would've survived

Thats without saying, but what surprises me about this story is a team of scientists from four leading British universities have been spent time on this! I would be more surprised if the rich did not bring in exotic pets at the time...or even earlier! The pets were not registered so how can they possible know for sure how long ago it started.?

I would say they are trying to prove that their fundings were worth the while.

Edited by freetoroam
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Are we talking LV 426 Alien cats????

I do not think the Xenomorphs had cats.

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Where the heck is the Alien as in Extraterrestrial??

It is a foreign cat, not an alien one.

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i myself have seen big cats up in Leicestershire uk, i think, as has been said above, a cat was brought here, mulitplied, and so on.... x quite fascintin really x >'.'<

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Where the heck is the Alien as in Extraterrestrial??

It is a foreign cat, not an alien one.

I think the third interpretation is what they mean.

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i myself have seen big cats up in Leicestershire uk, i think, as has been said above, a cat was brought here, mulitplied, and so on.... x quite fascintin really x >'.'<

The are many books on the subject and like yourself many have seen them. It has been an interest of many for many years. Just not sure why scientists are spending time on this when so many others have and what they have come out with here is not new, the remains were found in a museum, so who ever put it there knew about it.

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Thats without saying, but what surprises me about this story is a team of scientists from four leading British universities have been spent time on this! I would be more surprised if the rich did not bring in exotic pets at the time...or even earlier! The pets were not registered so how can they possible know for sure how long ago it started.?

I would say they are trying to prove that their fundings were worth the while.

Many wild animals (including big cats) were brought to the British Isles by the Romans. There's been quite a few sightings in the countryside where I live and I can remember at least two 'strange' livestock killings.

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Many wild animals (including big cats) were brought to the British Isles by the Romans. There's been quite a few sightings in the countryside where I live and I can remember at least two 'strange' livestock killings.

Exactly, it seems the team of scientists from four leading British universities have missed this.

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Exactly, it seems the team of scientists from four leading British universities have missed this.

Maybe they didn't miss it, but kept schtum in case they didn't qualify for more research grant money!

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What's a moggie?

A common or mixed-breed cat. It seems to be from Maggie, the affectionate short form of Margaret. In the eighteenth century, this was applied as a name for a cow or calf. In the nineteenth century it could refer to an untidily dressed woman or slattern. It was only in the twentieth century that it became a pet name for a cat. How or why the sense shifted in this way is not understood.

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i like the name alien big cat plus it looks really awesome and cool as well.anyway they are fascinating animals to look at from the looks of it has anybody captured one yet to study it safely and not harming it or changing its dna because i know there some scientist that mess and alter nature which is wrong and not ethical.but i figure the best way to truly know any wild animal is not by putting it in c age or etc but by seeing in its natural habitat and see how it truly lives you know.

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i like the name alien big cat plus it looks really awesome and cool as well.anyway they are fascinating animals to look at from the looks of it has anybody captured one yet to study it safely and not harming it or changing its dna because i know there some scientist that mess and alter nature which is wrong and not ethical.but i figure the best way to truly know any wild animal is not by putting it in c age or etc but by seeing in its natural habitat and see how it truly lives you know.

Many sightings have been made in Dorset, they call them ABC for short.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I wonder if the Romans brought wild animals to Briton during their conquest and released them upon leaving? It is unlikely any would have survived to the modern era.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hmm. Escapees sure, but I doubt that they have been breeding all these years. If that was the case, In a place like the England, with little woodland and limited prey, they'd be pushing up against humans and their livestock in no time, and attacks would be regular. I think if there was an established breeding population, there would be no doubt about their presence.

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Hmm. Escapees sure, but I doubt that they have been breeding all these years. If that was the case, In a place like the England, with little woodland and limited prey, they'd be pushing up against humans and their livestock in no time, and attacks would be regular. I think if there was an established breeding population, there would be no doubt about their presence.

Most sightings are in Dorset and there is plenty of woodland and wildlife round there. But I would image many are a case of people letting loose their exotic pets and in some case of sightings is not a big cat at all.

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