On the trail of the Beast of Ryedale - 03/03/04

But what was the latest of many such sightings seems to have caused very little interest in the area because it is now accepted that big cats are part of the wildlife of Ryedale.

Indeed, hardly a week goes by without my getting a message about a similar sighting. What does, however, surprise me is that we have never received a proper photo of one in the wild.

The cat, or one very similar, which Janet Stead and her sister-in-law saw last week must have been seen by dozens of people around our district during the course of the past ten years.

Big black cats like this one are to be seen all over the North York Moors and Dalby Forest, as well as all over the Wolds. Several times, there have been sightings of two black animals together and I was fortunate to see a big cat with a youngster about the size of a domestic cat running with it on the edge of the moors at Snilesworth one summer evening.

This time I happened to have my wife with me and at last she came to believe that these cats were indeed real and not a figment of my imagination. On that day, we had a camera in the car but by the time we remembered about it, the cats had disappeared into the bushes. Many people tell me the same story, and there are several stories about two black cats being seen together.

There is also a coloured or grey and white striped cat, too, and this seems to occupy a territory around the Westow-Scrayingham area and up to now has always been alone. But this one is usually seen by motorists after dark, and must be one of the rarer breeds of big cat.

I had one report of this cat crossing the A64 with a lamb in its mouth about two years ago, and one farmer I know in that area claimed to have lost a number of lambs in rather strange circumstances at the time. Dogs, foxes and badgers all have their own special ways of killing lambs, and this was a very different type of killer.

Some adult sheep were also killed the same year, and the policeman who went to investigate one case told me the teeth marks were about four inches wide, which meant the jaw of the killer was much larger than most of the dogs normally seen in the countryside.

The other attacks on adult animals were on the Whitby moors at about the same time and again an animal with a very wide jawbone had been involved with this. The distance between the two incidents suggested that more than one animal had been involved.

The big cat sightings here in Ryedale and the surrounding hills and moors are not unique and are replicated all over the UK, from Devon in the south to Scotland in the north and all parts in between. Now it is widely accepted by most country people that alongside our own indigenous wild animals, we have quite a number of alien species of animals which are making their homes in our midst.

The source of all unusual animals is not difficult to trace, but proof is very difficult to establish. Private collections of exotic animals have been around ever since man began to travel the world in search of adventure in strange lands and over the years, thousands have been shipped home to the UK to show off to people less fortunate.

During the Second World War, many of those animals were reputed to have been released into the wild, rather than being put down by keepers who had become too attached to their charges. Another source is reputed to be certain regiments of American soldiers who had black panthers as regimental mascots when they came over on the liberty ships during the war and had to leave them behind when they went to France during the D Day landings.

Another source could have also been the animals kept as pets before licensing was introduced a few years ago. But, of course, the main reason we are seeing a lot more of these animals is because they are breeding very successfully. Very few men in this country have either the ability or the equipment to kill a fully-grown leopard safely and only occasionally does one see a report of one being killed on the roads.

Every species of the big cat is dangerous if they are cornered and, in their original countries, it is usually just the very old cats, which are unable to hunt, who turn into man-eaters. Whilst there must always be cause for concern, most of them will run away when they are faced with a human. All farm animals will be regarded as normal prey and domestic cats and dogs could be very much at risk.

The National Farmers' Union has at last decided to take the big cat issue very seriously and has asked that all sightings should be reported either directly to them or to the local police. We would like to hear from you and will acknowledge every report. We hope to build a proper picture about the range and habits of our big cats here in our area.

Updated: 14:29 Tuesday, March 08, 2005