Why Are Big Cats Living In The Wild In Great Britain?
Big cats are living in the British countryside but how did they get here? In the 1960s and 1970s especially, but even long before this and especially during the Victorian era, it became quite fashionable to keep big cats as pets and in private menageries. You could even buy lions from Harrods in the 1960s and early 1970s! In 1976 the Dangerous Wild Animals Act was brought in and this meant that people who wanted to keep big cats and other animals covered by the Act had to apply for a licence and also have suitable and safe enclosures for their animals and inspections, as well as having satisfactory liability insurance. Quite a few people have admitted that they released their big cats into the British countryside at the time as a result and others have admitted releasing big cats into the British countryside since, for people still keep big cats as pets and in private collections and private zoos in Great Britain today!
Big cat expert Rick Minter points to the second world war as a time of big cat releases in Great Britain too. At this time, rationing was introduced and meat was scarce, people who kept big cats as pets and in menageries would have released them out of necessity because they could no longer feed them!
Other big cats have simply escaped from their enclosures over the years and have gone into the British countryside.
The Lynx has been heavily persecuted in Great Britain. Despite the claims that they were all wiped out they have been spotted numerous times since! There are now plans to reintroduce the Lynx into Great Britain.
Big cat expert Rick Minter points to the second world war as a time of big cat releases in Great Britain too. At this time, rationing was introduced and meat was scarce, people who kept big cats as pets and in menageries would have released them out of necessity because they could no longer feed them!
Other big cats have simply escaped from their enclosures over the years and have gone into the British countryside.
The Lynx has been heavily persecuted in Great Britain. Despite the claims that they were all wiped out they have been spotted numerous times since! There are now plans to reintroduce the Lynx into Great Britain.
As we look back into more ancient history we know that the Romans brought big cats into Britain, to 'entertain' people in amphitheatres and in circuses and some wealthy Romans may have had exotic big cats as pets and in the centuries that followed there were still captive big cats and these were transported through the forests of England by circus troupes or by people who had travelling menageries. It is almost certain that some of these big cats escaped to live and breed in the wild and some could have been deliberately released. When the Romans left Great Britain did they take all the big cats with them or were large numbers released into the woods before they left?
Could it not be possible that some of the descendants of the big cats that were living in Great Britain hundreds of years ago are actually living in the wild in Great Britain today? I think it's highly likely, as I believe there would have been a viable breeding population. Perhaps the fierce so-called 'black dogs' of legend, said to be living in the woods of England, were actually leopards! These woods were massive in the Middle Ages and could have contained many big cats. Interestingly, the remains of big cats that were kept at the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London, from the 13th -17th Centuries were found in 1937!
Could it not be possible that some of the descendants of the big cats that were living in Great Britain hundreds of years ago are actually living in the wild in Great Britain today? I think it's highly likely, as I believe there would have been a viable breeding population. Perhaps the fierce so-called 'black dogs' of legend, said to be living in the woods of England, were actually leopards! These woods were massive in the Middle Ages and could have contained many big cats. Interestingly, the remains of big cats that were kept at the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London, from the 13th -17th Centuries were found in 1937!
Certainly, big cats are breeding in the wild in Great Britain. There have been genuine and credible sightings of pumas and black panthers with cubs in the British countryside. I know of such sightings in woods in Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Dorset. I have actually captured a mother and cub on two occasions on my camera in Devon! Leopards and pumas may share the same general territory, as I have seen through my own studies, camera footage and sightings and even mate, but will continue to be territorial in their behaviour. There are undoubtedly some hybrid big cats living in the wild in Great Britain.
My estimate is that at least 1000 big cats live in the wild in Great Britain and I am not alone in this estimation. People might ask the question: how are these cat numbers going to be controlled? The answer is that our big cats will control their own population! Male leopards and pumas do commit infanticide. They will take cubs that are not their own offspring and they can tell by scent especially if the cubs are their own. That's why female leopard and pumas look after their cubs so well and take the trouble to bury their own scats and those of their cubs. Our big cats are here and are here to stay however! Keep your eyes open and your wits about you when you go out into the countryside! Maybe YOU will see one or two or more one day!
My estimate is that at least 1000 big cats live in the wild in Great Britain and I am not alone in this estimation. People might ask the question: how are these cat numbers going to be controlled? The answer is that our big cats will control their own population! Male leopards and pumas do commit infanticide. They will take cubs that are not their own offspring and they can tell by scent especially if the cubs are their own. That's why female leopard and pumas look after their cubs so well and take the trouble to bury their own scats and those of their cubs. Our big cats are here and are here to stay however! Keep your eyes open and your wits about you when you go out into the countryside! Maybe YOU will see one or two or more one day!
Photos from Tambako the Jaguar, Tambako the Jaguar, ahisgett Tambako the Jaguar