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Subject: Recent exchanges From: Stu posted Sun, Oct 18 2009, 9:03am  The Hunts Post, based in Cambridgeshire (I think), England, has given over an awful lot of letters & reports of sightings of 'big cats' in the past two or three years, even going so far as to bestow the uniquitous 'Fen Tiger' title on them. Most reports of sightings & photos/descriptions of tracks/encounters have tended to be mildly, urbanely semi-sensationalist without resorting to too much wild hysteria or hyperbole; most have only scratched the surface factually & haven't really bothered to address the likelihood of extant bigger wild cats being at large with comparables of suitable habitat, food sources & so on, let alone a collation of common denominators re. type sightings or type witness features. The follwing recent exchange shows both sides of the debate highlighted quite clearly, with the latter's response being an atypical but welcome address to the amorphous plethora of suggestive assumptions which tend to surround these events. 'Big cat' sighting in Grafham 16:41 - 30 September 2009 I read with interest (The Hunts Post, September 23) about the couple who saw the "big cat" in Grafham on September 12. As a resident of Grafham, I too have seen the large sandy "Labrador" big cat with its tail straight in the air, being at a right angle to its back. This was no ordinary cat. My sighting was on Wednesday September 2 at around 5.15pm while looking out of my bedroom window across the village playing field. The animal walked down the side of the football pitch towards the houses that back onto the playing field, in the direction of Van Diemen's Way. It had that distinctive walk that cats have and to me therefore it was no dog, although its colour could give that impression. Instead of continuing down the playing field it jumped into the farmer's field towards The Wyvern group of houses that have been built off Breech Road. I clearly knew what I had seen so, after consulting with two neighbours who are mothers, I telephoned the police. I was worried, for there were young people playing cricket on the playing field and, if the cat had turned, then I am not sure what I would have done if later I heard there had been a terrible accident. I was given a police incident number and thought that was that. But at around 5.50pm a police officer arrived at my house to ascertain more details. He thanked me and assured me the police do take these sightings seriously and said he would investigate the area. Several days later, while in conversation with friends, my attention was drawn to an article on Cambridgeshire's police website about PC Paul Carter, who has taken it upon himself to plot and report sightings of big cats in our county. Clearly, from this PC's information, what I saw and you reported on was a lynx, although I do understand a black puma had been seen by a person in the village playing field a few days earlier than my sighting. PC Paul Carter also states that the centre of reported activity is west of the A1 corridor from Sawtry to the Northampton border. Certainly Grafham would, I feel, sit comfortably in that area. How safe we are in Grafham? From the way you reported Mr Armstrong's sighting, our "big cat" roams the roads of Grafham rather than the fields that encircle our village. KEITH GOWEN Inhams Way Grafham Big cats in Hunts - a guide to Fen Tigers 07:10 - 15 October 2009 I have been following the recent reports and correspondence regarding sightings of big cats in Huntingdonshire with interest. Having a background in biological science and knowledge of the extent and variety of reported sightings throughout the UK, I believe in the reality of this phenomenon in some cases. However, there are many anomalous aspects to the story, not least that so few bodies of exotic cats are found and that some creatures reported bear little resemblance to any known species in appearance or behaviour. People often mistake either large dogs or large domestic cats for something larger still. Most photos offered as evidence show domestic cats, as I am sure Jennifer Hyde's is (The Hunts Post, September 30). If it were a puma cub, it would have a distinctive spotted coat. Here is a brief guide to what you might see if you are very lucky. If the cat is the size of a Labrador and is sandy with a long tail, it is probably a puma (Puma concolor). Note to Keith Gowen (Letters, September 30): these are never black, concolor means single-coloured. If black, it is a black leopard (Panthera pardus), and a European lynx (Lynx lynx) has distinctive ear-tufts and a bob-tail as well as being considerably smaller. Lynxes were native British cats until their believed extinction here between 400 and 500 AD. All are elusive and avoid people whenever possible - anything that is bold and seeks them out is probably a dog or a moggie. NEIL ASHLEY Chestnut Close Sawtry I've read some interviews with PC Carter & watched a news video last year of him explaining his (sceptical) take on things & his role (note: this only forms a small part of his constabular duties). I think he'd mainly go along with Ashley's views, even though by admission he isn't a qualified 'expert'. And I realise these sightings & exchanges relate only to this part of the UK countryside, more densely populated & urbanised as it is to, say, the recon Beacons, Ardnamurchan or Exmoor. But there are still pertinent points made - & far less pertinent & unknowledgeable assumptions perpetuated. Subject: Re: Recent exchanges From: ape man posted Wed, Oct 21 2009, 1:59am  Cats, you say? Apeman & Brownpidgeon discuss cats. Subject: Re: Recent exchanges From: Stu posted Wed, Oct 21 2009, 7:56am  lol

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