BIG CATS IN SCOTLAND
16th century English chronicler Raphael Holinshead believed large cats lived in Scotland and said: “Lions we have had very many in the North parts of Scotland and those with manes of no less force than those of Mauretania; but how and where they were destroyed I do not know yet.”
In the 'Where the Whaups Are Crying' a Dumfries & Galloway Anthology, ( Innes MacLeod, Birlinn 2001) in the 1760 work by Richard Pococke, 'A Journey Around Scotland,' he alludes to wildcats in the eastern Stewarty of the county and reports: “They have also a wildcat three times as big as the common cat, as the pollcat is the less. They are of a yellow red colour, theur breasts and sides white. They take fowls and lambs and breed two at a time...!
In 1927 farmers in Inverness were suffering sheep losses from an unknown predator. Then they shot three lynx which were responsible for the depredations and sent the bodies to the London Natural History Museum for identification.
This was the start of the modern era.
Big cats are seen all over Scotland, mostly black, some with the colourations of a puma, some white and some resembling a lynx.
Big Cats in Scotland investigate and research sightings and events connected with reports of large non-native cats in the country. We would appreciate any information that you may have. We respect confidentiality at all times.
You are not alone, many people have had the same experiences and here they gather to tell their tales.
Over the coming months you will see one of the largest archives on Scottish Big Cats anywhere on the internet, and we hope you will help it grow larger by submitting your experiences.
In the 'Where the Whaups Are Crying' a Dumfries & Galloway Anthology, ( Innes MacLeod, Birlinn 2001) in the 1760 work by Richard Pococke, 'A Journey Around Scotland,' he alludes to wildcats in the eastern Stewarty of the county and reports: “They have also a wildcat three times as big as the common cat, as the pollcat is the less. They are of a yellow red colour, theur breasts and sides white. They take fowls and lambs and breed two at a time...!
In 1927 farmers in Inverness were suffering sheep losses from an unknown predator. Then they shot three lynx which were responsible for the depredations and sent the bodies to the London Natural History Museum for identification.
This was the start of the modern era.
Big cats are seen all over Scotland, mostly black, some with the colourations of a puma, some white and some resembling a lynx.
Big Cats in Scotland investigate and research sightings and events connected with reports of large non-native cats in the country. We would appreciate any information that you may have. We respect confidentiality at all times.
You are not alone, many people have had the same experiences and here they gather to tell their tales.
Over the coming months you will see one of the largest archives on Scottish Big Cats anywhere on the internet, and we hope you will help it grow larger by submitting your experiences.
Dedicated to the first lady of British Big Cat Research: Di Francis.
