What would high powered torches do? Blind the animal? How goofy.
Also I know something about the British climate (virtually all of my professors in Kenya were Scottish or British), and the types of cats that can survive in a cold clammy moor type of environment. Also add to this the type of pets that used to be kept before possessing feral cats was banned in Britain.
Hence I believe the type of cat being seen in Britain (if they actually exist and are not some British manifestation of the Sasquatch) is either a Leopard (from Africa or India), or maybe it is a Puma (from N. America). However there is also the added chance that it is an amalgamation of the two species (since it has been shown several of the large cat species can mate and produce exotic offspring …eg a lion and a tiger can give a liger/tigon; a leopard and a lion can produce a leopon etc. As an aside the largest cat in the world is a Liger, which is immense, by far bigger than even a Siberian/Amur tiger …..that thing looks like a monster)!
The reason I think it is a leopard is because leopards are the most adaptable big cats, and can survive in any environment ranging from blistering desert furnaces to arctic frozen wastes! Leopards can also eat nigh anything ….and in Africa they have been known to show a particular taste for dogs, even going as far as breaking into people’s compounds and snatching their poor canines (in one case one leopard streaked from a tree and snatched a poodle from the arms of some distraught Briton, who promptly screamed before collapsing in shock). Hence when it comes to survival a leopard could be the culprit!
However personally I think it is a Puma! The reason for that is because leopards may not be as big as lions or tigers, but they are regarded as the most ferocious of the big cats and have a seeming wanton for bloodshed! If it were indeed a leopard then instead of a stray dog being killed one would see whole herds of sheep slaughtered in their pens at night (with only one being eaten and the rest being killed for sport). Also leopards have been known to become maneaters in both Africa and India ….and have managed to rack up a comfortable tally of human lives! If it were a leopard, and it is in a community with people, by now there should have been a human fatality (usually a sneak attack at night).
And that is why I think it is a puma! Cougars are generally timid, and the rare cases of attack (very rare) have mostly resulted in scratches (a leopard attack on the other hand will usually result in death). And pumas can also survive in a vast array of environments, meaning they could survive in the British countryside. Also they were kept as pets due to their docility (leopards, it can be said, do not make great pets, especially if you are not fond of deep long lacerations).
Thus I would say if the cat exists it is most likely a puma.
Is it a lion or tiger …..nope, Such a large beast would require larger prey than stray dogs, and an adult lion prowling the fields would definitely come into contact with some unfortunate soul, who would most probably run, and because of that be killed! One of the last things you should attempt when faced by a lion (a real lion not a ‘mountain lion’) is run because even if it is not a man-eater it will give chase out of instinct …it is like dangling strong before a cat. Every year myriads of people are killed (some reports say hundreds) by lions as they try to enter south Africa from mozambique (for the better living standards). They try to sneak through the park, and usually end up faced by marauding lions. The ones who make it through to S. Africa are the ones who do not run, do not scream, and do not try to ‘scare’ the lions away by making noises and flailing their arms. The ones who die are the ones who, upon seeing a lion, immediately start to run (one can tell they ran away from the tracks) and the lion immediately tears them apart! Some climb trees, not knowing that lions can climb most types of trees! Others start crying ….not knowing that to a lion a human cry sounds very much like the noise sick wilderbeests make, and lions like picking on sick or wounded prey!
Hence in Britain I doubt it is a lion or tiger ….and I also doubt it is a leopard (although a leopard could easily survive their). Thus the remaining option is either a puma or a florida panther (both were kept as pets ….pumas because they were docile, and florida panthers because they could be black in color, and hence their owners could lie to friends that they were ‘black panthers’ for the danger aspect).
Or maybe the whole thing is a hoax and what the farmers saw was a big dog …or maybe they had to much ale and were seeing things when there was none.
However in some cases evidence (dead carcases) have been discovered that were killed by something that was not a dog …but seemed to be a large, very large, cat.
By the way, if it is a puma then the only weapon you need is a stout stick and a strong arm. However if it is a leopard, jaguar, lion or tiger then i hope you have a very powerful (and reliable) firearm (i do not mean hand gun when i say firearm), great aim, and a strong relationship with your creator ....because in all those cases there are instances of heavy slugs being fired right through their hearts and they still finish their charge and kill the shooter! Using a shot gun in such cases would be suicidal ...unless you waited until the beast was 3 feet away before pulling the trigger ....and that is hard to do when a 500 pound lion is charging at you at 50 miles an hour (and a lion going at 50 miles an hour, towards you, seems like a blur moving at 200 miles an hour)!
A shot gun is only advisable if you have written a solid will and said adeiu to your loved ones!
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Note: this topic is from January 8, 2003. Just how large *are* these whales? |
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