page_title: British big cats
section_title: Video and photographic evidence
hierarchical_section_title: British big cats / Reported sightings / Video and photographic evidence
caption_attribution_description: English: A European Wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) Français&#160;: Un chat sauvage d’Europe (Felis silvestris silvestris).
context_page_description: In British folklore, British big cats, also referred to as ABCs, phantom cats and mystery cats, are reports and incidents of Felidae not native to Britain but supposed to inhabit the British countryside. These sightings are often reported as "panthers", "pumas", or "black cats".
  A fringe theory suggests that the animals may be surviving Ice Age fauna. However, the existence of a population of true big cats in Britain, especially a breeding population, is believed to be highly implausible by experts owing to lack of convincing evidence. There have been some incidents of recovered individual animals, often medium-sized species such as the Eurasian lynx but in one 1980 case a puma, which was captured alive in Scotland. These are generally believed to have been escaped or released pets that had been held illegally, possibly released after the animals became too difficult to manage. Sightings at a distance may possibly be explicable as domestic cats seen near to a viewer being misinterpreted as larger animals seen farther away.
context_section_description: Around 1993, a number of reports were made of a large black cat around Bodmin Moor, nicknamed the 'Beast of Bodmin', with at least two videos made. Some video evidence was examined by government scientists, who concluded from the position of the camera and animal that the sightings were of black cats no more than 30 cm (12 in) high at the shoulder.
  In 1994 footage of a large black cat was recorded in Cambridgeshire and was named in the media as the "Fen Tiger".
  In June 2006 a large black cat was recorded in the countryside of Banff, Aberdeenshire. Footage of the cat was broadcast by the BBC on 24 May 2007.
  In July 2009, photographs and video footage of a large black cat were taken by an off-duty Ministry of Defence Police officer. The animal was walking along a railway line in Helensburgh, Argyll. Large cats, either black or tan, have been reported in the area before.
  In late 2009 video footage of what is claimed to be a large black cat was recorded in Herefordshire. The sighting and video footage of the alleged big cat coincided with a spree of sheep killings in the same area.
  In 2010 video footage of what is claimed to be a large black cat was recorded in Stroud, Gloucestershire. 'Experts' have estimated that the creature was at least five feet (1.5 m) in length from nose to tail.
  In 2011 a family walking in Fochabers Wood, Moray, photographed a large black cat matching the description of a forest jaguar.
  In 2013, photos were taken of what appeared to be a large black cat on the estate of Sir Benjamin Slade, 7th Baronet in Somerset.
  In 2017 there were five sightings of big cats in Gloucestershire, some with photographic evidence.
  In April, 2017, a mother and her teenage daughter took several photos of what appears to have been a large black big cat in the Quantock Hills, Somerset, which was speculated by BeastWatch UK, a non-profit organisation that collates and reports on exotic wildlife, that it could have been a panther or jaguar.
  A 2017 documentary included footage taken by an off-duty police officer in the West Midlands of a large black cat that was analysed by a big cat expert from South Africa who concluded that it had the characteristics of a black leopard. He also analysed footage taken of a large black cat in the village of Maiden Newton, Dorset and said that it was the "most conclusive evidence so far that a black leopard is on the loose in the UK".
caption: A European wildcat, the Scottish population of which is the only wild cat species known to live in Britain.
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