BIG CAT NEWS: Essex, Midlands, Croydon and Rutland

The hunt for British Big Cats attracts far more newspaper-column inches than any other cryptozoological subject. There are so many of them now that we feel that they should be archived by us in some way, so we should have a go at publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in.

It takes a long time to do and is a fairly tedious task so I am not promising that they will be done each day, but I will do them as regularly as I can. JD

And we start off in Essex, where, only a week or so ago, one of the more farcical pieces of British mystery cat history took place...

Lion cub? It's just our little school cat!
Southend Standard
POLICE were called to track down a big cat for the second time in a week – but it again turned out to be an ordinary pet. Officers were called to Thameside Junior and Infant school, in Manor Road, Grays, after builder Graham Bowers, 61, said he had ...

But the dust has not yet settled on the events of last week...

Roaming Relu: Essex Lion: a tweeting good tale
By Anne Liddon
Wild boar and exotic deer are occasional road casualties; as fellow Archers listeners will know, the Grundy family is currently eating its way through a large boar carcase. But no big cat has ever been killed by a car on our roads, no bodies ...

Essex lion: Spoof advert mocks Colchester Zoo Daily Mail The joke came after holidaymakers in Essex spotted a big cat on Sunday prompted a 20-hour manhunt including armed officers, two police helicopters using heat-seeking equipment and zoo workers scrambling to find the 'lion' in St Osyth, Essex over the ... Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2196348/Essex-lion-Spoof-advert-mocks-Colchester-Zoo.html#ixzz25XLNClkb British Village Leads Police on a Wild Lion Chase, Literally By AIM Newswire Police in the country village of St. Osyth, located in the southeastern English county of Essex, concluded that they had not found any evidence of a wandering big cat as reported by locals. This past Sunday, about 40 officers were sent to the ... Can you spot the "lion" in the picture? THE man who reported a lion sighting to police in Grays on Tuesday remains convinced what he saw was not a domestic cat. Graham Bowers, 61, was with five other men in Cherry Tree Close, when he made the call to police. They all believe the cat they saw was a mountain lion or a cougar, and police, who Mr Bowers said arrived an hour after his call, did not catch a glimpse of it, and decided it must have been a large domestic cat after finding one in Thameside Junior School’s grounds. It's a jungle out there... Essex lion just one of 829 big cats on the prowl Express.co.uk Police emergency call logs obtained by the Sunday Express in a Freedom of Information request reveal 829 big cat sightings reported to 20 police forces over the past decade, particularly in rural areas of Devon, Cornwall, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Dorset ... The St Osyth big cat sighting: Getting your lions crossed

East Anglian Daily Times
Now, before I ignite the EADT letters page with howls of rude protest let me add that I'm not saying those who bear witness to seeing big cats roaming East Anglia are liars but until I see one with my own eyes I remain sceptical as to what was actually ...

Cat man: I'm convinced it was a lion
Thurrock Gazette
They all believe the cat they saw was a mountain lion or a cougar, and police, who Mr Bowers said arrived an hour after his call, did not catch a glimpse of it, and decided it must have been a large domestic cat after finding one in Thameside Junior ...

Ambush Predator: ”Words of advice were issued to the informant...”
By JuliaM
A police officer visited Thameside Junior and Infant school, in Manor Road, and informed bemused staff he was investigating a sighting of a big cat on the premises that morning. The sighting had been reported at 8am by builder Graham ...

However, according to Danny Bamping, one should look to the Midlands loike

West Midlands has lion's share of the UK's big cat sightings Birmingham Mail According to the latest figures from the British Big Cats Society, 71 wild cats have been seen in Staffordshire, 48 in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, 33 in Shropshire and two in Warwickshire. There are numerous other unregistered incidents ... Our old mate Neil Arnold has been in the news again.. Leopard spotted in Croydon, claims big cat expert This is Croydon Leading big cat expert Neil Arnold this week revealed to the Advertiser that he received regular reports of sightings of large black felines in green areas of the borough. ​ SPOTTED: A woman reported seeing a panther-like creature in the undergrowth ... Skeptic News: Leopard spotted in Croydon? - The 21st Floor By Skeptic News Leading big cat expert Neil Arnold this week revealed to the Advertiser that he received regular reports of sightings of large black felines in green areas of the borough. And earlier this month – on the evening of August 19 – a dog trainer ... And finally, to Rutland, where Corinna and I shall be very soon... 'Big black cat' seen by couple walking their dog in Wakerley Woods Rutland Times Kevin and Samantha Timms, of Ullswater Avenue, were out walking their dog in Wakerley Woods on Friday evening, when they say the cat walked across their path. Kevin, 38, said: “At first I thought it was a dog but then I noticed it prowling. “It was the ...