ITN News
Last update: Thu Feb 09 2012 19:37
Compelling amateur footage has emerged which appears to show a big cat, possibly a puma hybrid, on the loose in a field near Stroud, Gloucestershire.
The video was captured by teaching assistant Coryn Memory, who apparently saw the animal as many as five times before managing to capture it on film.
Far from the usual conspiracy theory or hoax, this footage has been investigated by Big Cat expert Frank Tunbridge, who, by superimposing images over the footage, managed to estimate the cat at 6ft long from tip to tail.
In one scene, the cat appears to be the same size as a passing fox, despite the fox being considerably closer to the camera.
The footage is far from conclusive proof that Big Cats are thriving in the British countryside, but it does add weight to the argument in favour.
If you have any news on this item please let us know by leaving a comment or email bcib@btopenworld.com Please report any sightings at http://www.bigcatsinbritain.org/localreportform.htm If you wish to comment on any of the items please click the header of the story.
Last update: Thu Feb 09 2012 19:37
Wed Feb 08 2012 17:50
The video was captured by teaching assistant Coryn Memory, who apparently saw the animal as many as five times before managing to capture it on film.
Far from the usual conspiracy theory or hoax, this footage has been investigated by Big Cat expert Frank Tunbridge, who, by superimposing images over the footage, managed to estimate the cat at 6ft long from tip to tail.
In one scene, the cat appears to be the same size as a passing fox, despite the fox being considerably closer to the camera.
The footage is far from conclusive proof that Big Cats are thriving in the British countryside, but it does add weight to the argument in favour.
If you have any news on this item please let us know by leaving a comment or email bcib@btopenworld.com Please report any sightings at http://www.bigcatsinbritain.org/localreportform.htm If you wish to comment on any of the items please click the header of the story.
1 comments:
The video camera was supplied to the lady by Frank, the image does not show any such cat, only a dog. The fox at the top of the video is not even remotely frightened, again, if it were a big cat, then why is there a fox and why is the fox and even birds not flying away in fear?
If it were six foot long and two foot high, then that must make it a record breaking cat! So Frank forgot to say that includes the tail measurement. However, even at two foot high, that does not make it a big cat. There are some people who say that we have “black panther” roaming free in the UK, this is wrong and untrue. Why? – Because there is and are no such animals as “black panthers”. Yes we have panthers and it is a generic name given to some species of cats such as puma/cougar, even some species of exotic cats have in part the Latin “Panthera”. The term black panther is a unknown name a pseudo name which appears because of myth and misunderstanding. There are black or melinistic leopards but they are not all black or even true black, we also have black jaguar. Also the term “big cat” is also misued and not correct. Only those cats which do not purr and lack the hyoid bone are classed as big cats. If it roars its a big cat, if it purrs it’s not. However, some species can indeed semi-roar as well as purr.
Many people use the Dangerous Animals Act 1976, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Zoo Licence Act 1981 to substantiate their belief of such “big cats and that these cats breed and have been breeding or making hybrids. It is true that in the UK there has been many cases where small exotic cats have escaped or been found, some have indeed cross-bred. It is true that a couple of lynx have also been found. But this does not prove or mean that “big cats” are free and roaming free in the UK wilds, let alone breeding.
Is it not strange how the sightings always take on the guise of “black, panther, big cat, bigger than my or his dog, cubs were seen, it roared, it was night time, fuzzy or out of focus pictures, poor video, policemen seeing them, etc. When someone reports that they saw something, it has a domino effect, others then say they also saw and then it gathers pace and more say they too have seen this mythical creature, or even they were attacked or their dog or pet was attacked. This is what is called a “scotopic event”. The eyes see something, not sure of what it is, the brain trys to make sense of it. The brain comes up with what is believed to be correct however, in fact it’s not. If you have 10, 20, 100 or 1 million people all saying that they saw something, then by rule of logic alone, each person should see something slighly different. The same applies to that of when people see the rainbow, each person will see a different colour and will see where it starts or ends at a different place. Light, angles, atmosphere and so on makes the image seem different to each person. No one person see the exact same as the next person.
Remember, Cryptozoology is a non-science, it’s not a real or true science. Anyone can call themselves a cryptozoologist and the word means:
Oxford
cryptozoology
• noun the search for animals whose existence is disputed or unsubstantiated.
There “may be” a big cat which “may be” or “may have” escaped from a collection or from a private owner. However, that does not mean that there are such felids out there, nor does that 2000 plus sightings mean that these cats exist or are there or anywhere. By applying common sense and the rule of Occam’s Razor which says : “from among competing hypotheses, selecting the one that makes the fewest new assumptions usually provides the correct one, and that the simplest explanation will be the most plausible until evidence is presented to prove it false.”
In the case of the Stroud sightings and the Sun’s coverage, also that Frank Tunbridge is no “expert”. The simplist reasons applies…it was a dog!
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