More Mystery Cat Reports

There have been quite a few mystery cat reports from Great Britain this year, and it does not appear that they are going to stop anytime soon.

On June 1st, the Daily Star published a piece on a few new black panther reports:

"Emma Adam was left rooted to the spot as she watched the snarling beast rip apart a fox it had captured in [the] woods.

 "Mother-of-three Emma, 29, above, said last night: 'Now I'm scared to leave the house.'

"Her encounter came during an evening walk with her mum-in-law near her home in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leics.

"She said: 'As we were coming along the path, I saw something lying down and I was trying to figure out what it was.

"'I kept looking at it, and I realized its head was going up and down because it was eating something, ripping it apart. My mother-in-law and I froze.'

"It is the latest of many sightings of panthers in the British countryside.

"In January, Phil Cross, also from Ashby, spotted what he described as a 'black panther' blocking a country lane.

"And Robert Ingram and his wife Nicole, left, were terrified when they saw a beast near Pershore, Worcs."

Emma Adam, who encountered a black panther
(Daily Star)

After that article, the Daily Star posted another, about how many mystery cats could be roaming the area:

"Cryptozoologist Jonathan Downes, 57, has been tracking the wilds beasts for decades.

"He reckons there are dozens of killer pumas, panthers, [technically pumas and panthers are the same thing, whoever wrote this] lynx and wildcats roaming the UK.

"It comes after we revealed how Emma Adam was left paralyzed with fear when she came face-to-face with a  black panther this week.

"Mr Downes believes her sighting in Leicestershire is just the tip of the iceberg.

"He believes there could be 150 big cats such as panthers on the loose in Britain at any one time.

"The expert is worried there will be more close calls for people in the coming weeks due to warm weather.

"Despite attacks by wild animals being rare Mr Downes said people should stay well clear.

"He said: 'Do not try and approach it or do anything stupid.'

 "Mr Downes said most of the beasts are decedents of animals released in the late 70s and early 80s when the government brought in rules on keeping big cats.

"He thinks their population is slowly growing as they breed in thick undergrowth.

"The revelations come after the Daily Star reported yesterday [June 1] how Emma, 29, was left in shock when she came face-to-face with a black panther in Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

"Her experience was mirrored by scores of people across the country.

"Catherine Davis, 46, told the Daily Star last night how she saw two large beasts 'prowling' around her flat in Pontyrddulais near Swansea two weeks ago.

"There were 455 beast sightings logged by police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between 2010 and 2015.

"Norfolk has had the most reported sightings, with 57 being logged. Neighboring county Suffolk has had 26 reports of big cats. A black panther has repeatedly been seen stalking the countryside in both counties.

"In Devon and Cornwall there have been 28 sightings - with reports of farm animals being killed by big cats."

Jon Downes

Jon Downes, of course, is director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, probably the best cryptozoology-research organization in the world.

With 455 big cat reports (and keep in mind for each report that probably means there were some that weren't reported) in 5 years, and quite a few already this year, it would not surprise me if there are even more in the coming weeks.

If there are, I'll update things.

Black panther
(Bruce McAdam, wikimedia)