My Big Cat Sightings
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  • Intro
    • Latest News
  • Croydon Hill - 1985
    • Bishops Lydeard - 2008 >
      • North Petherton - 2012
      • 'Britain's Big Cat Mystery' Trailer
  • South Devon - 2020
    • South Devon - 2021
  • Puma in a Devon Wood - 2022
    • Black Leopard Sighting in South Devon - 2023
  • Leopard Sawing in a Devon Wood
    • Leopard Growling in a South Devon Wood
    • Puma In A Devon Wood - 2025
    • Two Pumas In a Devon Wood - 2025
  • Wildcats in England
  • Big Cat Scats
    • Big Cat Claw Marks
    • Big Cat Footprints >
      • Big Cat Scrapes
      • Big Cat Dens
      • Safe Feeding Areas
  • Big Cat Talks
    • The Puma Skull Mystery
  • Are You A Big Cat Sceptic?
    • Big Cat Conversations with Rick Minter
    • Angela Boyd's Big Cat Sightings
    • Newspaper Reports
  • Films and Photos
    • Big Cat Scouting >
      • Big Cat Scouting In A Somerset Forest
      • What About Photos and Films of Big Cats? >
        • Big Cat Tent Photo Gallery
  • Why are Big Cats Living in the Wild in Great Britain?
  • Big Cats and Public Safety
    • BBC News Report >
      • Claire Balding - Ramblings - Big Cats! >
        • Big Cat Books
  • Contact

Bishops Lydeard  - 2008

Picture
Whilst driving down the A358 in the direction of Taunton and approaching the village of ​Bishops Lydeard,  near the Quantock Hills, I had my second sighting of a big cat! There it was, walking on the embankment on the left hand side of the road and this time it was much smaller than 'The Beast Of Exmoor' yet much larger than the largest domestic cat.  It was stocky and muscular and its long black tail was clear to see! This time, I had seen a juvenile black panther!

When I arrived at our home in Bishops Lydeard the first thing I told my wife as I walked through the door was that I had just seen another big cat!

Later on that same day a friend's son called at our home to tell us that a large black cat had leaped out of the undergrowth at him as he walked to the scout hall in the woods on the edge of Bishops Lydeard and that in desperation he had lashed out at it and actually struck it with a sturdy stick he was carrying, causing it to run back into the undergrowth!

It just had to be the same big cat! His description of it matched with mine and it was in the same vicinity as the one I had seen! Bishops Lydeard had just been visited by an aggressive and mysterious black cat and I thank God for protecting our friend's son from it. I wonder if it ever returned?

N.B. It's possible and highly likely that this is the same black panther that was spotted at Crowcombe Park Gate on the Quantocks in 2017!


Picture
Photos from Tambako the Jaguar Tambako the Jaguar