Big Black Cat- proof!

[Inchlaggan]

I would not share this with you for fear of being mocked, but there is a lesson in here- somewhere!

Last Thursday I spoke with an ornithology researcher who had been to a loch around a mile to the north. He had seen paw prints of which he was unsure- a cat in all probability but larger than a domestic one.

On Friday evening (around 9pm), my neighbour saw ?a large black cat? on the track in front of her house, her husband saw it as well. Another neighbouring couple saw the same at around the same time.

At 3.30am on Saturday morning, yet another Glen resident saw ?a large black cat? on the road a mile or so west of the earlier sightings. He is a stalker and reckoned it was ?larger than your average domestic cat?.

Each sighting had no knowledge of the others in advance.

On Saturday evening (and knowing of all of the reports above) my wife saw ? a large black cat? on the land between us and the loch. Calling my attention to it, I had a fleeting glimpse of a large black cat making off to the west.

I set up the CCTV, and along with the usual pine marten bait of peanut butter, added some cat food.

The pine marten took the butter, but left the cat food on Saturday and |Sunday nights. I switched off the camera, the cat food was gone by Tuesday morning.

Camera on again for Tuesday night, cat food bait out again.

Bait gone by morning, time to review the recording.

Pine marten takes most of the butter by 7.30pm, half of the cat food is gone by 11.30pm,  track back- a black cat appears!

No puma or cougar, but a British Short Haired Tom Cat, over three and a half feet from nose to tip of tail- larger than your average moggie.

Lord knows where it has come from.

[Inchlaggan]

BTW - How much cat food did you leave out :lol:

Two of Tesco's cheapest pouches- I ain't the BBC's Natural History Department!

[Its Me]

inchlaggan,got your reply to my post about loch quoich, fished the west side of the river quoich on tuesday and noticed large prints at the water side which looked like they belonged to a large cat or dog heading up river amongst many wader footprints but they seemed to just fade away into the hills and never saw any of the prints heading back down the water so i am thinking its not a fisherperson with a dog , so maybe worth having alook by someone.

                             cheers
                                     andy

[Its Me]

ken,pm sent

      andy

[Inchlaggan]

Got it Andy, thanks.
Different folks (i.e. those without maps) name different burns as "River Quoich".
You obviously have a map and can read it!
Any fish?
Ken

[Its Me]

had 15 fish Ken up to 1 1/4lb on nymphs all returned.
it was a really cold day with a north westerly blowing most of the day and all weathers,snow ,hail,sun the
lot.
love the place and great fighting broonies.

                                         andy

[Texxa]

I know I am going to get a ribbing here  :crap but there have been so many sightings, including police called to sightings that I believe they do exist. I have been following the various big cat sightings sites for years.

When the dangerous animals legislation was brought in large exotic cats were cartainly released - a number of jungle cats and leopard cats have been killed on our roads along with wallabeys and at least one wombat. Although those large cat species are not technically "big cats" it is logical to suggest the likes of pumas may have also been released. RSPC have confiscated Lynx in recent years and I understand you can still legally own these in Eire.

The ranges they would naturally cover, combined with chosen release sites being not too far from the owners' cities...eg Bodmin Moor, could well mean there is now a second generation. At least one sighting claimed to have been one with young.

Not all sightings are by weak minded city types and know one very credible witness who , along with her husband, has twice seen one in the same place. She has been a countrywoman and worked gundogs for about 40 years and he is a rather conservative ex ghurka officer. She was even able to state it was a puma and it was old as its back end had started to go. I would trust her 100% in judgment and honesty and she claims to have had hair samples verified from where it had been crossing a barbed wire fence.

Many many years ago there was a puma recaptured in Scotland.... Certainly far from fanciful?