How has the Fen Tiger made it up to the Lake District unspotted?!
> The DNA of a big cat in the Panthera genus – probably a leopard – has been identified from a swab taken from a dead sheep in the Lake District.
Must be enough of them for a breeding population. I say leave them alone if they’re not bothering folk.
“Who’s a good kitty? ”
Proceeds to get scratched to pieces
Easiest way to test this theory is to go around Windermere with a megaphone going “ppssspsspppsppp”
That’s my brothers cat bowser. He’s long, so very long. But harmless. More snake than cat.
I don’t know why this made me so giddy, I need to get a life
Maybe we could use them to control the XL bully population?
It’s not confirmed though. The problem is that there’s no detail of the results, and no peer review or replication of the results mentioned anywhere. Big Cat DNA is extremely similar to domestic pussycat DNA. These tests need to be verified to be sure. Also it concerns me that they can only narrow it down to genus. That suggests there’s a wide margin for error in their analysis.
There was a similar story last year about somebody discovering “big cat” DNA. I think it might be the one mentioned in this article about finding hairs.
That story was spun to make it sound like it was definitely big cat DNA, but the results they shared meant it was mathematically pretty likely to be domestic cat. This one doesn’t even give any figures to back up their claims.
Also, if this was properly confirmed, I think the press release might have been picked up by a slightly bigger and more reputable news source.
“could this the be proof” – probably not
The headline asserts certainty, but then immediately beneath it:
“Could this be conclusive evidence that proves there are big cats roaming the British countryside?”
So I don’t think this article is to be trusted, considering the headline and first sentence are contradictory.
Our country is so densely populated that such a large mammal would have be spotted and photographed by now.
Could be my 🐾😽Ronnie, who is like a vast medicine ball with a leg at each corner (iyswim)
I mean people have been saying it for ages with photo evidence to back it up. They used to be private owners of big cats until 1976 but after regulation was put in, where do you think they went?
BREAKING NEWS: Rumoured big cat roaming countryside turns out to be a little monkey fella
If you’ve got a genuine interest in reintroducing large carnivores in the UK (though not necessarily panthers…) then you might want to join us at r/rewildingUK
Holy shit. That’ll stop the lads from grabbing that evening pint
Big cat in need of big pets.
Small zoos go out of business fairly frequently and close down. The owners sometimes sell animals privately if they are desperate for money, some nutter ends up with a monkey, pet wolf or big cat. It occasionally escapes. That’s the usual story.
Source: father in law’s mate – had a pet lion at his farm.
This isn’t news. My neighbour has a really big cat, fat bastard is always scrounging for food.
28 comments
How has the Fen Tiger made it up to the Lake District unspotted?!
> The DNA of a big cat in the Panthera genus – probably a leopard – has been identified from a swab taken from a dead sheep in the Lake District.
Must be enough of them for a breeding population. I say leave them alone if they’re not bothering folk.
“Who’s a good kitty? ”
Proceeds to get scratched to pieces
Easiest way to test this theory is to go around Windermere with a megaphone going “ppssspsspppsppp”
That’s my brothers cat bowser. He’s long, so very long. But harmless. More snake than cat.
I don’t know why this made me so giddy, I need to get a life
Maybe we could use them to control the XL bully population?
It’s not confirmed though. The problem is that there’s no detail of the results, and no peer review or replication of the results mentioned anywhere. Big Cat DNA is extremely similar to domestic pussycat DNA. These tests need to be verified to be sure. Also it concerns me that they can only narrow it down to genus. That suggests there’s a wide margin for error in their analysis.
There was a similar story last year about somebody discovering “big cat” DNA. I think it might be the one mentioned in this article about finding hairs.
That story was spun to make it sound like it was definitely big cat DNA, but the results they shared meant it was mathematically pretty likely to be domestic cat. This one doesn’t even give any figures to back up their claims.
Also, if this was properly confirmed, I think the press release might have been picked up by a slightly bigger and more reputable news source.
“could this the be proof” – probably not
The headline asserts certainty, but then immediately beneath it:
“Could this be conclusive evidence that proves there are big cats roaming the British countryside?”
So I don’t think this article is to be trusted, considering the headline and first sentence are contradictory.
Our country is so densely populated that such a large mammal would have be spotted and photographed by now.
Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines
Beast of Bodmin touring Britain
Massive pussy in your area…
Could be my 🐾😽Ronnie, who is like a vast medicine ball with a leg at each corner (iyswim)
I mean people have been saying it for ages with photo evidence to back it up. They used to be private owners of big cats until 1976 but after regulation was put in, where do you think they went?
No belly rubs for this one
That reminds me of the lion found in Essex
https://youtu.be/qedUFtPNx0A?si=9ivDWYa-pjjUFwPM
BREAKING NEWS: Rumoured big cat roaming countryside turns out to be a little monkey fella
If you’ve got a genuine interest in reintroducing large carnivores in the UK (though not necessarily panthers…) then you might want to join us at r/rewildingUK
Does it have big feet?
In 2011 the railway line through Shepley was closed because of reports of a lion and cub nearby: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/06/lion-line-passengers-held-station
Holy shit. That’ll stop the lads from grabbing that evening pint
Big cat in need of big pets.
Small zoos go out of business fairly frequently and close down. The owners sometimes sell animals privately if they are desperate for money, some nutter ends up with a monkey, pet wolf or big cat. It occasionally escapes. That’s the usual story.
Source: father in law’s mate – had a pet lion at his farm.
This isn’t news. My neighbour has a really big cat, fat bastard is always scrounging for food.
Why friend shaped?
Yet people still doubt the Beast of Craggy Island
Let’s hope the Big Cat won’t be sent to Rwanda. …