THE WILD ONES

Reports have reached us from many folk and although descriptions of the large wild cats have varied, most are of animals that are much larger than the largest of domestic cats We'd like to get to the bottom of the sightings and so have established a special section on our website to collect data from people who have seen them. To contact the Gazette & Herald with any details you may have of sightings, write to us at Gazette & Herald Newsdesk, PO Box 29, 76-86 Walmgate, York YO1 9YN or fill in the form in the big cat section of this site

AS September comes to a close and the corn fields are cleared of their crops, all the wildlife which have used them for cover and shelter have had to move into the woods for winter - and because they need to move around in search of food, they all become much more noticeable.

Our native wildlife like the foxes, badgers and deer, of course, are seldom seen during daylight hours but the big cats, which are now accepted as part of country scenery, do not seem to have the same fear of man as the rest of our wild animals and birds and already there have been some sightings being reported by excited people who have met them as they cross the roads and fields.

I saw my first big cat on our farm on November 14, 1995, at about 8.15am. It was broad daylight and I was only 70 yards away and watched it for about five minutes before it disappeared into a ditch.

This animal was light coloured, nearly white with a few grey and black spots on its body. It had a cat-like head with a neck which seemed to be at least six inches long attached to a lithe body and had a long tail, which curved at the end. My impression at the time was that this was either a leopard or even a cheetah or a similar big cat. It could, of course, have been a hybrid version of the any of the big cat families.

The story of my sighting was, of course, treated with disbelief and laughter but I knew what I had seen and began a trail of enquiries, which still goes on today.

Publication of my story in the press and radio has generated a remarkable amount of interest over the subsequent years and I have found that lots more people have seen what became known as "Ken's big cat" in our part of the world.

Life became much more interesting and complicated when I saw another cat of similar size and build, also at Hovingham, later that winter. This was definitely a black leopard.

Through the course of that winter and the following year, many other people saw both these cats around our district, with at least 20 people telling me about their own sightings. Their stories went back over 20 years to the early 1970s. Every one of them had had the same experience as me. They had been met with disbelief and ridicule and after a few days had decided to forget about it, thinking that they must have been seeing things.

My phone rang almost every day with another sighting from December 7, when the story was published in the Gazette & Herald, until January, when the calls started to drop off.

But even today, seven years, on complete strangers stop me and say: "You are the big cat man aren't you? I saw one a few weeks ago..."

And I still get phone calls from all over Yorkshire describing sightings and sheep killings which take place. On two occasions, as far afield as Skipton and Egton, I have been told about deer carcasses being seen up in the branches of trees, in the way that leopards store their kills in Africa.

Up to now, no one has taken a photo. But this is not important because, with modern day cameras and computers of course, photos can easily be rigged and seldom prove anything, especially to disbelievers.

There have, however, been lots of sheep killed around the county over the past few years, in circumstances which rule out either dogs, foxes or badgers - or even otters, which are also getting quite common today - and many of these killings are similar to those carried out by big cats in places like Africa.

In addition to the killings, I have been told about horses being attacked with huge claw marks on their flanks at least twice in recent years.

In the beginning, I began to keep a record of reported sightings, keeping only first names, not surnames. The first was from Averill, who worked at Kirbymoorside and saw hers on Wass bank, near Ampleforth, as she was going home rather late one night.

The next was a nurse, working at Hovingham Lodge in the middle of my farm. This cat walked past the conservatory window in the middle of the afternoon and was at least five times as big as the biggest tomcat. It ran off into the fields and she said frightened some of our sheep into a ditch.

Joyce, who lives on Brook Side in Hovingham, saw one on December 2 in her garden when she went out for some sticks. She was frightened and her husband got in touch with the gamekeeper but when he arrived the cat had gone.

Robert, from Scackleton, saw one twice during the winter of 1995-96, both times on the edge of the village. This was the first report of a black leopard. The first time, in the dark, he saw it in his car lights and stopped and watched it walk past the car and was within six feet of the animal. The next time was in daylight when he chased it at 45mph down the road in his car.

David, one of our local JPs, and his granddaughter were taking some children home from a party on December 5 and saw the white cat crossing the road at Coulton Mill late at night.

All these sightings are less than two miles from Lodge Farm.

Chris rang, from near Scarborough, to say he had seen a black cat twice in two days in Dalby Forest during 1995.

Don rang from Ryton on December 10, 1995, to say some visitors had seen the black cat crossing the road between Hovingham and Stonegrave at 3pm that afternoon.

Paul, who lives in Scackleton, was walking his dog on December 28, 1995, when he sighted a big cat. He was about 150 yards from it and, according to his wife, was terrified when he rushed back in and told her about his sighting.

As the weeks progressed, there were lots more similar reports from people from all over the county, with the majority of the sightings being within the Ryedale area. But there were a good number from both Scarborough and also the Wolds.

In the last two areas, the sightings have always been of black cats, and always described as leopards. Indeed, black leopards seem to be sighted all over the country and I have had reliable reports from places as far apart as the Scottish Borders and Leicestershire within the same week.

I must have been told about at least 50 different sightings over the past few years, mainly because people knew about my special interest. All these people seem to be sensible and reliable witnesses and can give accurate and often very graphic accounts of their sightings.

Because there are now more and more of these people coming forward with sighting reports, the Gazette & Herald would like to hear from people about their personal sightings. The aim is to work with other people to try to establish just how many different types of alien animals we have in this country today - what they are, and how widespread they are. And just as importantly, if they are a danger to people and domestic animals.

The reports could be useful if there is a need to establish ways of controlling animals which can inflict severe damage to both children and adults as well as livestock.

All your replies will be treated in confidence (but please include a phone number so that we can contact you). With your help we might be able to develop a clearer picture of just what it is out in our countryside.

There are definitely wallabies in Derbyshire, that has been proven. I would like to be able to prove we have leopards or something similar in North Yorkshire. This afternoon, as I write, a man described seeing a big cat he thought was a puma at Masham.

KEN HARRISON

Updated: 09:22 Wednesday, September 25, 2002