Alien Big Cats (ABCs), also called Phantom Cats, are big cat species sighted outside of their native range. A large number of these sightings come from Britain, where the cryptids are referred to specifically as British Big Cats. However, big cat sightings have been reported from many countries where they are not native, including much of continental Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Theories of where these cats originated from include escaped exotic pets, escaped zoo or circus animals, and occasionally it is suggested that these are invasive species with established breeding populations. The Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976 has been cited as a possible cause for an increase in feral big cats in Britain who were released by owners who could not be bothered to meet the requirements of the new law.
A number of the more famous cases have received unique, local names, such as the Beast of Bodmin Moor or the Fiskerton Phantoms.
Etymology[]
A cougar, otherwise known as a puma, mountain lion, catamount, panther or painter.
The “alien” in Alien Big Cat refers to the fact that the species are foreign, non-native or out of place, the original definition of the word alien.
The cougar is referred to as the puma in Britain, leading many ABCs to be referred to as “pumas” online.
Description[]
The big cat species often reported are cougars/pumas, black panthers, leopards, lynxes, lions and jungle cats. Reports of tigers are rare. The prevalence of black panther sightings is noteworthy due to the fact that black panthers are not a species, but are rather leopards or jaguars born with melanism, a colour mutation that gives them darker fur.
In Britain, the cats are often sighted in moorland, fields and public parks. Elsewhere in the world, parkland and other wild areas are often the purported homes of big cats. Occasionally, the sightings happen in more populated areas.
Prehistory[]
In prehistoric times, Britain and much of Europe was the native range of several big cat species, notably lions and leopards. The names in bold below indicate species that lived concurrently with humans in Europe.
- Panthera spelaea – Cave Lion
- Panthera pardus (subspecies P. p. antiqua, P. p. begoueni, P. p. sickenbergi and P. p. vraonensis) – European Leopard
- Homotherium – Scimitar-Toothed Cat
- Panthera gombaszoegensis – European Jaguar
- Panthera fossilis – Fossil Lion
The Eurasian lynx went extinct in Britain in recent centuries, but there are currently proposals to reintroduce the species. There is debate concerning how long the lynx survived in Britain, with some researchers arguing that the species still lived in the isles until the Middle Ages or possibly later.
Notable sightings[]
Australia[]
Gippsland phantom cat - In the Gippsland region of southeastern Victoria, American World War II airmen brought cougars with them as mascots and allegedly released them in the Australian bush.[1]
Blue Mountains / Lithgow Panther – A black panther rumoured to live in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Sightings span from the '90s to the 2010s. It’s been theorized that the Blue Mountains cats might be descendants of the Gippsland cats.[2]
United Kingdom[]
News report on a 2003 sighting
Surrey Puma (1962) – England. Multiple reports of pumas have come from the Surrey/Hampshire area, but one of the first of these was made by Ernest Jellet in 1962. While walking up a lane towards the Heathy Park Reservoir, Jellet spotted a large cat chasing a rabbit towards him, but he managed to scare the cat off. He described the cat’s face as short and round with a long, thin tail. While the police took Jellet’s report seriously, they could not locate the cat.[3] Strange howling noises were further reported in Surrey in 1964.
Beast of Exmoor – England. In the summer of 1983, farmers in Exmoor, Devon began reporting that an alarming number of their sheep were being killed by an unknown animal. These reports coincided with sightings of a large black cat in the area. Night patrols of soldiers from the locally based 42 Commando Unit were assigned to catch or kill the cat reported in the vicinity of a farm owned by Eric Ley at Drewstone. The case was highly publicized.
Beast of Bevendean – England. In June 2008, Bill Batchelor, a resident of Bevendean, reported that he’d seen a sandy-colored cat with a grey muzzle (a puma) in the area three times, and that one of these times the cat attacked his dog.[4]
Gloucestershire Leopard – England. In 2022, DNA analysis of hair retrieved from the bodies of sheep killed on a farm that same year showed a 99% match with Panthera pardus.[5]
Continental Europe[]
Lions are one of several ABC species commonly reported, although not as commonly as panthers and pumas.
Beast of Funen – Denmark. A lioness reported in the village of Kertinge in Eastern Funen, Denmark, on the 13th of May 1995. Several days after the first sighting, the cat was seen walking along a motorway en route to Nyborg. On May 18 the lioness was spotted again by a six year old in Frørup.[6]
Ruokolahti Lion / “Elvi” – Finland. In August 1992, a lion was spotted near the Finnish-Russian border, and the biologist who identified the cat from its tracks was given permission to shoot the animal, assisted by the border patrol.[7] The cat, dubbed “Elvi”, went uncaptured after crossing into Russia. It’s been theorized that the lion was an escapee from a train carrying a Russian circus that was en route to Svetogorsk.[8]
Bascharage Panther (2009)
Bascharage Panther – Luxembourg. In September of 2009, a black panther was reported in Bommelscheuer near Bascharage. The police were called, but failed to capture the panther. A media frenzy ensued and many more reports came forward. The Amnéville Zoo, who owned three black panthers, did not report any missing cats, leading the authorities to theorize that the panther may have been an escaped pet.[9]
Substantiated sightings[]
Felicity, a puma trapped in Scotland.
Devon Lynx – England. A Canadian Lynx was shot and killed in Devon, England in 1903. Analysis of its teeth suggested that the cat had spent much of its life in captivity before being released.[10]
“Felicity” - Scotland. In 1980 a puma was captured in Inverness-shire, Scotland. The capture followed several years of sightings in the area of a big cat matching the description of the one captured, which had led local farmer Ted Noble to erect a cage trap. The puma was subsequently put in the Highland Wildlife Park, a zoo where it lived out the rest of its life. When it died it was stuffed and was placed in Inverness Museum.
Tyrone Caracal – Northern Ireland. In County Tyrone in 1996, the police managed to shoot what they believed to be a young feral lion, discovering upon shooting it that it was actually a caracal, an African lynx.
Kellas Cat – Scotland. The Kellas Cat is a hybrid variety of cat which arose from hybridisation between melanistic Scottish Wildcats and domestic cats. Eight specimens were collected in the 1980s, with two live specimens successfully being captured in 1986 and 1988 and bred in captivity in the 1990s. The original cats, with their dark fur and small ears, may have been responsible for “panther” sightings in the area.
“Winnie” – Netherlands. In June of 2005, a puma was reported near the Ginkelse Hei Nature Reserve, with the authorities asking the public to stay away from the area to avoid potential attacks from the animal and to avoid being injured by hunters. Nobody succeeded in hunting the cat, but photographic evidence supports the conclusion that Winnie was likely an unusually large hybrid between a house cat and a European Wildcat.
Related websites[]
- British Alien Big Cats – Cryptozoology Chronicle
- British Big Cat Society
- Big Cat Conversations
- Big Cat Sighting in the UK
- Rutland & Leicestershire Panther Watch
Photo gallery[]
_(51884930910).jpg){kind=link}
Video gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Ashton Tresidder. "The lingering legend of the Australian panther." 10 June 2021
- ↑ Micaela Hambrett. "Lithgow panther an enduring mystery amid hundreds of sightings, claims of a cover-up." ABC News. 12 Jun 2018
- ↑ Brian Goodwin. "British Alien Big Cats." Crypto Chronicle.
- ↑ Emily-Ann Elliott. "Beast of Bevendean strikes again." The Argus. 10 June 2008.
- ↑ Tanya Jackson. "New DNA evidence 'confirms' presence of big cats in the UK." Discover Wildlife. 12 May 2023.
- ↑ Willy Wegner. "The Beast Of Funen." SkepticReport. 1 January 2005.
- ↑ "Ruokolahden leijona: Havaintoja salattiin 20 vuotta." 10 July 2012.
- ↑ "Elvi-leijonasta puhutaan yhä." 18 May 2011.
- ↑ "Viel Tamtam um eine schwarze Katze." wort.lu. 26 October 2009.
- ↑ Rebecca Morelle. "'Big cat' Canadian lynx was on the loose in UK in 1903." BBC News. 25 April 2013.