Big black cat......

E. Fudd

Was out for a stalk this morning and got talking to the farmer when I came back down off the hill
Now I would consider this lad to be of sound mind and not a bullsh1tter.
He tells me that there's a big black cat taking sheep from the farm behind the wood which borders his farm. 5 sheep taken in the past two weeks and a couple "bitten". Apparantly it has been seen by two local farmers who describe it as being "like a panther".
Now I'm a bit of a pessimist and find it hard to believe, but I said I'd put it out there and see has anybody else heard any reports of a big black pussy on the prowl in the Saggart area???

Glensman

They are out there, that's just a fact...
The RUC shot one in '87 I think.

A lot have roamed down from the 6-counties where due to an anomoly in legislation, big cats were not illegal to have as pets...

kildare.17hmr

I remember a few years ago a friend from rathcool telling me about a panther type animal in that area.

Would love a crack at it! I reckon it would be easy enough for an animal like that to live around saggart without any hassel and in relitive secracy

johngalway

With all of the guns here and in the UK...............................................

Show me the money photos :cool:

E. Fudd

johngalway wrote: »

With all of the guns here and in the UK...............................................

Show me the money photos :cool:

Exactly my thinking John. But then Kildare has got a point - plenty of wood in that part of the world!

garv123

There has been a black cat spottings all over munster about 2 years ago. In my area i remember always hearing it on the radio that it was spotted outside such village and then it was in cork and then clare.
At the time it was meant to be seen up around mellary monastery, where we used lamp around the weekend and never saw anything.

ill believe it when i see it myself

johngalway

E. Fudd wrote: »

Exactly my thinking John. But then Kildare has got a point - plenty of wood in that part of the world!

Also plenty of stalkers, fox lampers, rabbit shooters, rough shooters, wild fowlers perhaps, etc, not sure the doggie lads would give them a run though

Every year, or rather several times a year now these stories come out. Been coming out for years. There'd be bound to be one or three shot and in the shooting rags at this stage.

I am rather skeptical

johngalway

garv123 wrote: »

There has been a black cat spottings all over munster about 2 years ago. In my area i remember always hearing it on the radio that it was spotted outside such village and then it was in cork and then clare.
At the time it was meant to be seen up around mellary monastery, where we used lamp around the weekend and never saw anything.

ill believe it when i see it myself

It'll be one of them lads who lamp on 24x Everything looks big then.

sharkbite1983

Yup, Ive heard about this alright.
The Garda in Blessington have had a few reports of it.
Apparently its been nicknamed the Blessington Beast!!


When I was out on a long hike, I found remains of a sheep that had been torn apart. I dont mean by a fox or anything, I mean savagely ripped to pieces. When I mentioned it in the pub that night, everyone up here knew about the beast!

Its like drinking in the slaughtered lamb from "An American Werewolf in London"!!

Vegeta

johngalway wrote: »

I am rather skeptical

I have to say, so am I. Even photos of skat and tracks are non existent.

terminator2

i seen bigfoot last weekend lads , not messing:eek:

moby30

Two years ago we were shooting foxes in our usual spot in Wicklow. One day the farmer rang us and told us that there were a couple of sheep torn apart and that he'd never seen anything like it. He was so concerned that he called in the Garda as rumours were spreading all over the place about a big black cat killing every sheep in the area. I headed up with one of the local Garda armed with nothin but a night vision camera and a few lights to get an idea as to what was going on. About 4 a.m. we could hear the sheep gettin restless and then go into a frenzy. The Garda picked up something on the night vision and when we turned on the lights it turned out to be a black german shephard-I think they are actually called a Belgian shephard. if i had a gun he was easy pickings:rolleyes: .

Anyway that morning the local postman was asked if he knew anyone who owned a similar dog-which he did and upon a visit it was established that the owner comes home every night from work about 3 A.M. and lets the dog out for a run as there would be no one around at that hour:eek:.

Needless to say once he dog was not let out again all the killings stopped and the big black cat was never seen again:D

Im not trying to make fun just giving a personal account of my experience and in saying that know of a man who I would also class as being of sound mind who swears he seen one while out stalking-who knows?

Glensman

http://www.britishbigcats.org/evidence.php

A lynx was shot dead by R.U.C. marksman near the village of Fintona on the 18th of February 1996. The shooting followed days of reports of a 'young lion' in the area. The lynx, which was wearing a collar, was believed to have escaped from a private collection.
The body was suupposedly stuffed and placed in the R.U.C. museum.

and this from IrishShooter.
Always a nay-sayer john ;-)

JohnGalway
12-06-2009, 16:13
Until I see the carcass of little "fluffy" laid at someones feet I'll continue to :rolleyes: at them stories

marlin vs

I was contacted by a local farmer that was losing hen's and he had seen a big black cat heading away with one of them,he told me it must be an animal that probably escaped from a circus,anyway after several night's lamping I got him and the killing stopped,it was big allright but it wasn't a black Panther,I recon animals can make the imagination run riot with people that are having trouble.The Gun in the picture is 46 inches long.There's an explanation for everything.
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3429/catrf.jpg

landkeeper

maybe they got on the same ferry as the boar and muntjac

http://www.britishbigcats.org/index.php

Glensman

marlin vs wrote: »

I was contacted by a local farmer that was losing hen's and he had seen a big black cat heading away with one of them,he told me it must be an animal that probably escaped from a circus,anyway after several night's lamping I got him and the killing stopped,it was big allright but it wasn't a black Panther,I recon animals can make the imagination run riot with people that are having trouble.The Gun in the picture is 46 inches long.There's an explanation for everything.
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3429/catrf.jpg

That is some size of a cat!!
You should have caged him and let him rip at the river-rats we have at home- that'd be some fight!

good logs...

there could be some truth in it, there was a lad in dublin had 2 big cats a panter and some thing elsh dont know what it was, the garda took them of him they were illegal of course. but may be some mad **** let one go:eek::eek::eek::eek:

djflawless

i remember when i was only a young chap. .not that much older now but sure hey
anyways rumour and 10-15 people to clarify told me of a man who went for a stroll to try sneak a quick double barrel job on a fox.
He met into a large cat coming from a small plantation.theres supposed to be a photo but i dont really know the widow of the fella that shot it so i cant see the photo.
The cat is supposed to be 5 foot in length and as big as a springer.
The local vet was supposed to clarify the animal was just a feral cat that had been feeding generously at the time.
Maybe feral cats are the answer to 'big cats' in ireland??

4200fps

garv123 wrote: »

There has been a black cat spottings all over munster about 2 years ago. In my area i remember always hearing it on the radio that it was spotted outside such village and then it was in cork and then clare.
At the time it was meant to be seen up around mellary monastery, where we used lamp around the weekend and never saw anything.

ill believe it when i see it myself

Thats correct i seen that, it was in the papers.think it was more than 2 years ago maybe 4 years ago

Longranger

PM me if anyone wants to go velociraptor stalking in westport;)

Birdnuts

E. Fudd wrote: »

Was out for a stalk this morning and got talking to the farmer when I came back down off the hill
Now I would consider this lad to be of sound mind and not a bullsh1tter.
He tells me that there's a big black cat taking sheep from the farm behind the wood which borders his farm. 5 sheep taken in the past two weeks and a couple "bitten". Apparantly it has been seen by two local farmers who describe it as being "like a panther".
Now I'm a bit of a pessimist and find it hard to believe, but I said I'd put it out there and see has anybody else heard any reports of a big black pussy on the prowl in the Saggart area???

The cleaner in the office does home - help for an old boy at the back of Saggart. Thing is, he has an annoying habit of buying dogs like Rotweillers and Alsations that then go missing since he's not up to looking after them properly. No joke but this happens up to 3 times a year - could this be the problem here I wonder

PS: Another possiblity is that these sheep are being lifted - these types of theft are increasingly common, especcially near urban areas and given Saggarts location there is certainly a market for these knocked off, cheap cuts of meat in these hard times.

kildare.17hmr

Longranger wrote: »

PM me if anyone wants to go velociraptor stalking in westport;)

You have a PM! Finally get to put this 223 to good use:D

323

Would tend to be skeptical. I belive reports in the UK are more believable. .

Hypothetically though, if there was a Panther/Leopard in the wild, would normal field shooters ever see it, even lamping?
They are probably the most elusive animal on the planet, with one subspecies, described as "the worlds newest cat" just being identified earlier this year.

A friend in the US had a Cougar/Puma/Mountain Lion with cubs living in the crawl space under his house for God knows how long before he became aware of it, In a region where they were not supposed to exist.

EastTyrone

maybe it was this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94iGhJneIsQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=VP0NkL-QfvE

snipeface

I'd be kinda skeptical meself about them big cats.

But sure then again isn't Wicklow only crawling with Muntjac!

marlin vs

Ohhh holy god, a fella told me he saw another one last night and I belive him,tis the drug's I swear.:D

dodderangler

my mates dad delivers the bread and said when he came down from the house on bohernabreena hill something was on the road in front of him said it was dark black with yellow eyes and a big tail like a panther and he's never been one to tell lies and i believe him and a lad i met out one afternoon hunting rabbits told me theres a big black cat roamin around somewhere needless to say i was nervous doubt the beretta would do much damage to a panther ha be cool if it was true tho huh:eek::eek::eek:

4200fps

dodderangler wrote: »

my mates dad delivers the bread and said when he came down from the house on bohernabreena hill something was on the road in front of him said it was dark black with yellow eyes and a big tail like a panther and he's never been one to tell lies and i believe him and a lad i met out one afternoon hunting rabbits told me theres a big black cat roamin around somewhere needless to say i was nervous doubt the beretta would do much damage to a panther ha be cool if it was true tho huh:eek::eek::eek:

Wouldnt shoot him, trap him someway go over to oz and bring back an aborjorigine he'd get him lol:D emagine dat thing running for u. ud hav to give him lead poisoning

thomasc4329

johngalway wrote: »

With all of the guns here and in the UK...............................................

Show me the money photos :cool:

Have to agree with john i,m sure one would have been shot by now!!!

Tackleberrywho

spikealmighty

My home place is Kilanerin, North Wexford , pretty much bordering wicklow and a lot of woods, so we often see the likes of deer.

3/4 years ago during the summer around 9ish I was coming back from a walk through the fields when as i was approaching the gate when I heard something, I looked up to see a large black cat, it froze and looked at me for a couple of seconds before it jumped back the otherside of the ditch and ran off. It was definately a large panther type cat not a wildcat/feral. it was big with large thick paws, tail and short glossy fur.
Fecking freaked me out!

This summer while my parents were out for a walk in the woods in Kilanerin my mam saw it cross a path a bit a head of them, freaked her out too!!

Anyone else any expereience of large black cat north wex/ wicklow?

elgriff

We had a good talk about this around 6 months ago for those interested:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056205333

vixdname

I know what ye mean, I've seen an array of pussys over the years and I've got to admit, the big black hairy ones are quite frightening indeed ...

fallowbuck

vixdname wrote: »

I know what ye mean, I've seen an array of pussys over the years and I've got to admit, the big black hairy ones are quite frightening indeed ...

Not if ya no how to handle them, it takes the bigger calibre to really do the job:D But on a serious note one would have been shot by now or the hounds on the hunt would have flushed em at least. I think these guys are on acid.:rolleyes:

Tackleberrywho

vixdname wrote: »

I know what ye mean, I've seen an array of pussys over the years and I've got to admit, the big black hairy ones are quite frightening indeed ...

True, I don't like hairy Pussy's
Especially Big ones

Tackleberrywho

fallowbuck wrote: »

Not if ya no how to handle them, it takes the bigger calibre to really do the job:D But on a serious note one would have been shot by now or the hounds on the hunt would have flushed em at least. I think these guys are on acid.:rolleyes:

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!

steddyeddy

E. Fudd wrote: »

Was out for a stalk this morning and got talking to the farmer when I came back down off the hill
Now I would consider this lad to be of sound mind and not a bullsh1tter.
He tells me that there's a big black cat taking sheep from the farm behind the wood which borders his farm. 5 sheep taken in the past two weeks and a couple "bitten". Apparantly it has been seen by two local farmers who describe it as being "like a panther".
Now I'm a bit of a pessimist and find it hard to believe, but I said I'd put it out there and see has anybody else heard any reports of a big black pussy on the prowl in the Saggart area???

Sorry for the late entry into this thread just saw this. I am a biologist by education and worked in conservaion in africa, america ect. I worked in an area packed full of big cats but I rarely saw them. A lot of them are nocturnal or crepuscular (hunting/active at dawn or dusk) they know how to stay hidden. I have no evidence regarding big cat sightings apart from eye witness accounts but I have no reason to doubt a big cat could exist here.

In america and africa hunters are an excellent source of wildlife information and I have several in both america and africa who have claimed to see creatures not supposed to exist. I assume most of you guys are hunters you have seen more wildlife than most and be able to distinguish between various species. If one of you came to me (as has happened before) and stated that they have saw a creature that didnt exist I would have a hard time disputing your account.

Im educated but the next bit is going to make me seem a bit ridiculous I met a hunter in oregon state who regularly hunts black bear, elk ect. He told me matter of factly that one night he saw a creature that wasnt a bear, wasnt a man didnt get down on all fours or nothing, it was what it was.

The reason im posting is to say that countless hunters have reported things that dont quite fit in ireland. I wouldnt discount what they say on the face of things.

Ps if anyones interested in reports made by the hunting community or if you have any reports yourselves of anything strange let me know!

Spunk84

I believe that if ever there one that was caught or found it will be a pet that has been released. I've hunted in California where they have mountain lions, I've seen a few in the field and one dead on the road. As far as Ireland or the UK having them I'm very doubtful, even the mountain lions in the states crop up in urban areas, California is a huge state compared to Ireland and its not in common for one to dander into town to a local park or an edge of an estate. A few years ago one was shot in Oakland sitting in a tree next to a primary school.

steddyeddy

Thanks for all the Pms guys Ill get back to yous when I have a spare day off!

garv123

We're safe. the latest update is they only eat muntjac.

Grizzly 45

Thing that gets me is the total lack of info on all these big cats.There is a rash of stories about them[usually on a slow media day or silly season] and poof! Its gone again!!Farmers claim their live stock are killed by big cats..Do we not have a few zooologists who could go and have a look at these kills.After all,each big cat has a certain method of killing its prey.EG lions strike on the hind quaters and then suffocate the animal by crunching the windpipe[Nat Geographic channel is a wonderful invention!:D].So surely it isnt that hard a job to ID what type of cat it might be??
Also,where are the bones of eaten prey?The Dept of Ag suposedly found some big cat poo a few years ago..They are still "looking into it":pac:As no report has ever been issued on it.

Until somone shoots one,its a hard one to belive.

Im educated but the next bit is going to make me seem a bit ridiculous I met a hunter in oregon state who regularly hunts black bear, elk ect. He told me matter of factly that one night he saw a creature that wasnt a bear, wasnt a man didnt get down on all fours or nothing, it was what it was.

So he saw Big Foot???:cool::D

steddyeddy

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Thing that gets me is the total lack of info on all these big cats.There is a rash of stories about them[usually on a slow media day or silly season] and poof! Its gone again!!Farmers claim their live stock are killed by big cats..Do we not have a few zooologists who could go and have a look at these kills.After all,each big cat has a certain method of killing its prey.EG lions strike on the hind quaters and then suffocate the animal by crunching the windpipe[Nat Geographic channel is a wonderful invention!:D].So surely it isnt that hard a job to ID what type of cat it might be??
Also,where are the bones of eaten prey?The Dept of Ag suposedly found some big cat poo a few years ago..They are still "looking into it":pac:As no report has ever been issued on it.

Until somone shoots one,its a hard one to belive.

Well then you should have no problem believing it now. Proof has been here for some time of british big cats.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/4830320.stm

In 1991 a eurasian was shot after killing 15 sheep. The farmer shot it while it was chasing his gun dog. Seeing as big cats are confirmed in britian I see no reason why they cant exist here.

So he saw Big Foot???:cool::D

Hunters were disbelieved about the mountain gorilla, the bonobo, and bears in certain parts of the united states. They turned out to be right. This hunter is an excellent observer of wildlife I see no reason to disbeleive him.

steddyeddy

spikealmighty wrote: »

My home place is Kilanerin, North Wexford , pretty much bordering wicklow and a lot of woods, so we often see the likes of deer.

3/4 years ago during the summer around 9ish I was coming back from a walk through the fields when as i was approaching the gate when I heard something, I looked up to see a large black cat, it froze and looked at me for a couple of seconds before it jumped back the otherside of the ditch and ran off. It was definately a large panther type cat not a wildcat/feral. it was big with large thick paws, tail and short glossy fur.
Fecking freaked me out!

This summer while my parents were out for a walk in the woods in Kilanerin my mam saw it cross a path a bit a head of them, freaked her out too!!

Anyone else any expereience of large black cat north wex/ wicklow?

A hunter in kilcoole county wicklow (anyone from anywhere near the area probraly knows him) saw a black cat near the the big forested area between kilmaconouge and newtown mt kennedy.

Grizzly 45

[

QUOTE=steddyeddy;75601408]Well then you should have no problem believing it now. Proof has been here for some time of british big cats.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/4830320.stm

In 1991 a eurasian was shot after killing 15 sheep. The farmer shot it while it was chasing his gun dog. Seeing as big cats are confirmed in britian I see no reason why they cant exist here.

We are in IRELAND not the UK mainland...Big difference!:rolleyes:
Just bcause it happens or is in England does NOT mean it is automatically over here.

A Lynx???Not exactly a "big black cat" now is it???
The things seen around here,taking into account that on exxageration of the tale ,we are hearing tales of things the sizes of tigers.:eek:

A lynx or somthing that size is quiet possible here,and with the lax laws on owning exotic pets all the more so.

But somthing like a Mountain lion upwards I'd have very grave doubts about for the following reasons..

How they manage to be seen in various different locations around Ireland [usually in the Summer months if you want to research the newspapers online] that are geographically appx 200 miles apart at any given sighting??

Ireland isnt densely forested countyside,we are mostly open pastureland with isolated forestry clumps or willow bogs for cover.Yet you can be assured it is traversed somtime within a 31 day period by somone.

How they stay so well hidden that there is not one verifiable paw print or a plaster cast of one in the locations of the sightings?

What are they eating in Winter,when most stock is off the land,and is accounted for almost on a daily basis??Possibly they could live off deer,but then again where are the carcass remains??

Ireland is too small for some kind of large predator not to go unnoticed.

Hunters were disbelieved about the mountaingorilla, the bonobo, and bears in certain parts of the united states. They turned out to be right. This hunter is an excellent observer of wildlife I see no reason to disbeleive him.

Hey!!! I'm not disbeliving him...That is exactly what it sounds like he saw,and its in the same state too ...If it looks like a duck,quacks like a duck...:rolleyes:

Deerspotter

I agree with Griz, this topic gets beaten to death too often on this thread.
As a man who spends a HUGE amount of time out in the countryside, all over the country, until I see a boar, a munty, a lion, a tiger or a bear, I will assume any stories about sighting are bullsh!t.
The main point is; Ireland is TOO small for any animal like a boar, a munty or a BIG BLACK CAT to live without being noticed.
You may as well believe in the Loch Ness Monster if you're a believer in these sorts of fairy-tales... FFS!

steddyeddy

Deerspotter wrote: »

I agree with Griz, this topic gets beaten to death too often on this thread.
As a man who spends a HUGE amount of time out in the countryside, all over the country, until I see a boar, a munty, a lion, a tiger or a bear, I will assume any stories about sighting are bullsh!t.
The main point is; Ireland is TOO small for any animal like a boar, a munty or a BIG BLACK CAT to live without being noticed.
You may as well believe in the Loch Ness Monster if you're a believer in these sorts of fairy-tales... FFS!

There is wild boar in ireland ask the irish wildlife trust.

Grizzly 45

We know that Teddy...Mostly escapees from exotic pet holdings,or liberation animals or domestics gone feral.However they have been hunted down pretty quickly and dispatched of within appx 2years of them going wild.

snipeface

garv123 wrote: »

We're safe. the latest update is they only eat muntjac.

Aw shute, so that's where all the Muntjac have gone in Wicklow.

Good job i had the last one i shot stuffed;)

steddyeddy

Right Grizzly apologies for the delay a hard days studying will do that to you.

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

We are in IRELAND not the UK mainland...Big difference!:rolleyes:
Just bcause it happens or is in England does NOT mean it is automatically over here.

I take it by the face beside the statement that you'r joking. Ireland and Britian share a biome. That is the Temperate Deciduous Forest biome. A biome shares similar flora and fauna as does Ireland and england big difference as a description does not apply to an area with similar geography in many cases, similar climate and similar flora and fauna.

A Lynx???Not exactly a "big black cat" now is it???
The things seen around here,taking into account that on exxageration of the tale ,we are hearing tales of things the sizes of tigers.:eek:

Im personally not hearing that but yes military, police and civilians have reported big black cats.

A lynx or somthing that size is quiet possible here,and with the lax laws on owning exotic pets all the more so.

A small black leopard could easily remain elusive here imo as they are quite stealthy and agile as well as the fact that leopards are nocturnal. You simply wouldnt see them during the day. They are nowhere near the size of tigers in fact their the smallest member of the genus Panthera.

But somthing like a Mountain lion upwards I'd have very grave doubts about for the following reasons..

So would I but then again cougars can max out at 100kg and leopards max out at 90.

How they manage to be seen in various different locations around Ireland [usually in the Summer months if you want to research the newspapers online] that are geographically appx 200 miles apart at any given sighting??

Reasearch indicates leopards home ranges can be up to 300km^2 so again not a problem and there could be more than one.

Ireland isnt densely forested countyside,we are mostly open pastureland with isolated forestry clumps or willow bogs for cover.Yet you can be assured it is traversed somtime within a 31 day period by somone.

True but big cats could easily smell people from miles away. Worked in an area with plenty of them not a problem for me.

How they stay so well hidden that there is not one verifiable paw print or a plaster cast of one in the locations of the sightings?

Again leopards in particular are extremely stealthy its not like an animal most irish people would have dealt with.

What are they eating in Winter,when most stock is off the land,and is accounted for almost on a daily basis??Possibly they could live off deer,but then again where are the carcass remains??

Leopards are extremely versatile and even eat dung beetles in the wild they will eat anything from rodents to crocs.

Ireland is too small for some kind of large predator not to go unnoticed.

Predators have been found in areas a lot smaller than Ireland!

Hey!!! I'm not disbeliving him...That is exactly what it sounds like he saw,and its in the same state too ...If it looks like a duck,quacks like a duck...:rolleyes:

Listen man not being funny but im a scientist I think I can understand something more complex than ":rolleyes:" about ten times over. Im giving you the benifit of the doubt that your capable of refuting my point with a scientific arguement so dont do yourself a diservice with a smiley face.

steddyeddy

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

We know that Teddy...Mostly escapees from exotic pet holdings,or liberation animals or domestics gone feral.However they have been hunted down pretty quickly and dispatched of within appx 2years of them going wild.

Considering there are posts on here like

As a man who spends a HUGE amount of time out in the countryside, all over the country, until I see a boar, a munty, a lion, a tiger or a bear, I will assume any stories about sighting are bullsh!t.

Ill take it some people dont know. You have no possbile way of telling how many are left in the wild since their are still reports being made.

As regeards the escapees well thats clearly the case any animal not usually found here must be an escapee or descendent of an escapee.

garv123

steddyeddy wrote: »

There is wild boar in ireland ask the irish wildlife trust.

there was one shot near a school about 2 years ago in south tip in a small village on the waterford border, not long after one of the lads who shoot said it walked passed their car up the vee. Didnt know weather to believe him or not till his girlfriend said it too and then paulo backed up the story of it been shot too.
apparently someone released about 15 them up the country hoping they would breed.