- This topic has 12 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated October 25, 2005 at 8:59 am by harmlessfeet.
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March 22, 2005 at 1:51 pm #1036323
wild animals now on the loose in SE London….
Big cat’ attacks man in garden A man has been attacked by a large cat-like animal which jumped out from bushes in his garden during the night. Anthony Holder said a 6ft-long black animal pounced, knocked him to the ground, then mauled him with its claws for about 30 seconds.
He said “I am 6ft and weigh 15 stone and it was considerably stronger and bigger than me. This thing was huge.”
Police were called to Sydenham Park in south east London and one officer saw a cat “about the size of a Labrador dog”.
‘Teeth out’
Armed officers arrived soon after and a search of the nearby railway line and allotments was carried out.
Mr Holder was looking for his kitten at the bottom of his garden, which backs onto woodland, when the powerful creature attacked him.
He described how a “big black figure pounced” and he was “in its claws for about 30 seconds”.
“Its teeth were out and I tried to defend myself and eventually I got the thing off my body.”
He was scratched all over his body and suffered swelling and bruising to his hand and the back of his head.
Police warning
The animal, which Mr Holder is convinced was a panther, then went and sat in the garden next-door and he called the police
The Metropolitan Police have mounted extra patrols in the area, which is largely residential and backs on to a railway line.
They have warned people not to approach the animal and to keep pets inside.
The RSPCA and London Zoo are being consulted for specialist advice.
Inquiries are also being made to trace exactly where the animal may have come from.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/london/4370893.stmPublished: 2005/03/22 11:23:33 GMT
© BBC MMV
March 22, 2005 at 4:10 pm #1064767:satisfied
Hurrah. I like cats.
October 23, 2005 at 10:19 am #1064763since that report there’s one of a panther in harpenden (hertfordshire)
a few years ago a female Eurasian lynx (a fairly common creature in Eastern Europe) was found sat on a wall in Cricklewood(!) – an old lady reported it to the cops who took one look at it and hid in their cars until a vet from London Zoo came…. (it is now being kept there)
and there were reports in the 1980s of a male jungle cat in Leicester. This is only the size of a small terrier – it can (and did) mate with many local “domestic” cats, until it was unfortunately run over whilst looking for more females (which is how the authorities knew of its presence).
In behaviour its no different from the Asian breeds such as the Siamese, Burmese or Egyptian Mau, so many people would have kept the wild kittens as pets.
October 23, 2005 at 3:26 pm #1064772Anonymous
These things always amuse me, as long as no one is seriously hurt.
October 23, 2005 at 3:40 pm #1064764Holeydel wrote:These things always amuse me, as long as no one is seriously hurt.there are stacks of interesting animals in the UK, I reckon puma and panthers exist in some number in more remote areas. There are plenty of sheep about to feed them in the countryside..
a lot of these sitings are played down or delayed because people do not want a motely collection of would be “big game hunters” with rifles or armed cops prowling around; I’d rather deal with the panthers TBH
apart from tigers (and usually only the old and sick ones) large cats do not usually attack or eat humans. only two tigers have escaped in the UK since 1984, both were recaptured. smaller cats are no worse than bull terriers…..
the main reason the UK government restricts the importing of these cats is more to discourage them being trapped in their native countries as some are endangered.
some scientists claim that the pet cat breeds are all wild cats anyway, and they only choose to live with humans because we feed them and give them shelter!
As long as smaller cats do not learn to hunt in packs, humans are safe 😉
October 23, 2005 at 10:16 pm #1064771they say that lynx are extinct in the british isles, but i saw one in cornwall 3 or 4 years ago
they are very shy and i was lucky to see it… i guess i was up wind of it.. it took one look at me and ran off… it was about 2 a.m. in a very rural area
October 24, 2005 at 9:56 am #1064773i grew up in Shropshire, there are plenty of wild cat tales around there! in fact, i’m pretty sure there is a Lynx in Shrewsbury museum that someone hit with their car?? could be wrong tho.
my mum was convinced she’d seen a panther cross the road in front of her one night when we lived there..
October 24, 2005 at 10:46 am #1064769nobody ever believes me when i tell them this, but about 8 years ago my boyfriend and i were driving over the heads of the valley (mountainous route between north and south wales) on a stormy night when our car careered off the road to avoid what i can only describe as a huge wolf. it had already been run over by the looks of it, but it was HUGE, and the only way to avoid running it over again (and bashing our car up) was to plummet in to a ditch – where we remained for about half an hour, too scared to get out and look or carry on our journey.
sissys!
though most of my friends laughed at us for being too stoned, I swear it was a wolf – and a big one at that. i’ve never seen anything like it before or since, but I know it was real!! IMO, could be anything running around the wilds of wales!October 24, 2005 at 2:28 pm #1064768I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from going to see if it was ok and maybe help releive it’s misery.
No doubt this would eventually lead to my doom as I get chomped in the jaws of some supernatural beastie.
October 24, 2005 at 3:28 pm #1064765IMO you’re not crying wolf….
in 2003 there was a dragonmoot in the trefil quarry…some friends of mine from one of our local crews went exploring in some wooded area near the site, and came across a cordoned area with lots of fences and DANGER : KEEP OUT/ PERGYL: CADWCH ALLAN signs., so they decided to investigate further..
a large wolf appeared and started growling at them, they all ran away like little boys…
there are indeed a fair number of wolves kept in the UK in private collections or animal sanctuaries. keepers need a license and are inspected by the authorities to ensure the wolves are being kept in appropriate conditions, including fencing to stop them getting into places be where they would cause damage or alarm, yet giving the animals sufficient space to behave normally….
Unfortunately some of these animals escape, and are not as aware of the dangers of motor traffic as a domestic pet would be 🙁
October 24, 2005 at 3:31 pm #1064774General Lighting wrote:there are indeed a fair number of wolves kept in the UK in private collections or animal sanctuaries. keepers need a license and are inspected by the authorities to ensure the wolves are being kept in appropriate conditions, including fencing to stop them getting into places be where they would cause damage or alarm, yet giving the animals sufficient space to behave normally….interesting..never knew that. :hopeless:
October 24, 2005 at 5:00 pm #1064766(“pet” wolves in the UK)
harmlessfeet wrote:interesting..never knew that. :hopeless:TBH the wolves probably are exotic pets, they are socialised with humans. However this is how people ended up keeping pet dogs…
there are some as close to my area as West Berkshire district – they were even featured in the local paper. they have sometimes even been taken round the local primary schools, and have not eaten any of the children.
the wolves actually have to earn their keep : they are kept for breeding purposes to try and (re)introduce them to other parts of Europe, for scientists to study animal behaviour (this can also be used to help pet dog owners and vets with dealing with training/behaviour problems) and sometimes act in films and television series (particularly the medieval dramas they are fond of making in Britain)
October 25, 2005 at 8:59 am #1064770BioTech wrote:I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from going to see if it was ok and maybe help releive it’s misery.No doubt this would eventually lead to my doom as I get chomped in the jaws of some supernatural beastie.
this was my conundrum – i remember having bad dreams about dying animals for weeks afterwards and apart from being freaked out by the whole experience i also felt really guilty.
however – the whole reason we careered off the road was that the wolf was on a blind bend, there was no time to see it beforehand. i figured that with it being such a stormy night, if the dying beast didn’t clamp me in its jaws then a car might just squish me too…….. -
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