Scotland’s Mystery Cats

Nicola Martin took snaps of huge prints on a beach near Coylton, Ayrshire. Photo credit: www.thesun.co.uk

But recent reports from Scotland claim there have been sightings of large mysterious felines during the last decades of the 20th century and at the start of the current century.

These incidents are reported on as eagerly as Nessie sightings. The large cats tend to be elusive and have led to tales of such creatures as the “Beast of Bennachie” and the “Cougar of Cupar.”

One witness claimed “(I saw) what I thought was a black Labrador…(but) I am 100% sure it to be a tiger-like creature walking slowly across the field.”

Also like Nessie, the elusive big cats have initiated debates about their existence. Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth claimed that the big cats are actually dogs or foxes.

But the sheer number of sightings have made believers out of many. Internet web sites are dedicated to chronicling big cat sightings, and a retired policeman from Inverness has collected reports of distinct sightings and promises “it is only a matter of time until the skeptics are proved wrong.”

Scotland is not alone in sightings of obviously non-native big cats. Similar reports have come in from as far away as New Zealand.

Captured large cats such as pumas and leopards can account for a few of the Scottish sightings, but certainly not all of them. One website logged 2,050 sightings over a 15-month period of time.

The possible origins of these non-indigenous cats are unclear, but one strong theory exists. Until the 1974 Dangerous Wild Animals Act, people in Scotland could keep pets such as pumas, leopards, and other exotic felines. This Act established standards for the care of exotic pets that some large cat owners may have found too costly, so they cruelly released their pets into the wilds, where they have roamed and bred ever since.

Chances are these cats are not supernatural in origin, although the majority of them do manage to glide in and out of view without being captured or identified.

Sources
Celtic Heritage, Jan/Feb 2001, “The Cats of Scotland”
British Big Cats Society website, pulled 6/20/2011

Doug MacGowan lives on the San Francisco peninsula with his wife, a dog, and far too many cats. He has published three books on the topic of historic true crime. In his free time he enjoys reading.

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