BLACK DOG, BIG CAT - OR BARGUEST?
By Sam Watson from Northern Earth 69
'The Beast of the North', 'Mystery Animal', 'Wild Durham Puma'. All terms culled from a recent selection of tabloids and broad sheets, and all referring to yet another sighting of a large quadruped carnivore at large in Britain.
We've all heard the stories, tales of a large 'something' that takes livestock or scares walkers out in rural districts. The reports have come from all areas of these islands, from Exmoor to the Scottish Highlands, from Durham in the East to Pendle in the West. The media story snowballs, and more and more sightings are announced, usually taking the form of a large tawny cat. Many photographs exist now, and it seems tacitly admitted by the 'Establishment' that such a creature may exist. Royal Marine Commandos have searched Exmoor with night-sights and rifles, looking for something but finding nothing. This is old news now. What has not been decided upon is the origin of the so-called 'Beast'.
The largest carnivore native to Britain is the fox, with badgers and wildcats coming near to it in size. But it is a rare fox that, in body length, exceeds four feet. The creature that has suddenly become a media star is often regarded as being over five feet nose to tail root, and well over six feet to the tip of the tail. So that rules out the simple explanation that it is just a large fox. Badgers can be ruled out as they are squat, powerful animals without a really long tail and the animal seen has a pronounced one. The only native creature that can come close is the Scottish Wildcat, certainly the fiercest inhabitant of these shores. But though ferocious and possessed of great cunning, even the biggest tom wildcat seldom exceeds four feet in body3. We must therefore face the prospect of a new carnivore in Britain, of origin unknown.
It's nothing new, either. Edward Topsell's Historie of Four-footed Beasts, published in the 17th century, provides an account of a ferocious furred quadruped, with four main claws per paw plus a dew claw (cat's thumb-like fifth claw, used for holding prey down), and with an extremely feline aspect in the woodcut illustration. Described as fiercely maternal with well-developed protective instincts, the creature seems a dead ringer for a Scottish wildcat1.
Many observers have cited ancient sites as evidence of cat-related cults and religions in North Britain in times past. Such sites as Catstones Circle in Shipley Glen and the Catstones Ring on Harden Moor seem at first glance to refer to the animals for which we search. However, a more likely explanation is the Gaelic word cat or cath, translating as 'battle' (as in the Welsh pen-y-cat, battle-chief). Indeed, archaeology confirms at least one of these sites to be the location of a battle between the indigenous tribesmen and the Scots in the first millennium BCE2.
Two theories predominate as to where the creature comes from. One, that it is a hybrid of the great cats that were kept as exotic pets until the introduction of the 1976 Dangerous Animals Act. These cats were released by irresponsible owners to fend for themselves. This they have done,, and are flourishing and breeding nationwide.
The second theory states that the cat (for this is the animal that is almost exclusively reported) is a previously unrecognised British native that has bred in high mountain places out of sight and is now in sufficient numbers that people are beginning to catch glimpses of it.It has even been given a name, perhaps only quasi-seriously - Felis Britannicus, the British Cat.
So let us examine these two main theories and try and reach a workable hypothesis. Firstly we shall consider whether this cat is a mongrel offspring of some group of exotic pets.
In the mid-1970s, many big cats were released into the wilder areas of Britain. Most of these were leopards, jaguars, so-called 'black panthers' (being black leopards or jaguars), lions and the odd tiger. But the smaller cats predominate, those of the leopard/jaguar family. From a scientific point of view, all these species freely interbreed, most of the offspring being fertile too. Offspring of such cats would be around six feet long and of a dark brown colour. In all probability a large number would also be marked, spotted or striped. None have been photographed or reported as such, though several reliable accounts of black cats have been recorded in the last eighteen months - one, for example, in the Peak District. Indeed, this Peak District report is interesting and strongly indicates a member of the black leopard/jaguar group.
Again, around Easter 1992, a large black cat lashed out in panic with a claw and injured a woman who discovered it basking on top of her wardrobe in the bedroom of her farmhouse in Hayfield, in the Western Pennines. The cat had crept in at the open window and gone to sleep in the warmth. Disturbed and scared by the commotion the frightened woman set up, it hit out in fear and fled, again through the window. She unhesitatingly described the animal as black, and therefore we are left with the definite possibility that this was a 'black panther', in this case probably a leopard, as this species is well-known as a climber that likes to sleep in high places, and also has a reputation for being temperamental. But in any event it is probably an exotic pet gone wild.
Another pointer exists: that of the cats' build and hair growth. Around 50% of cat sightings have been of thick-set animals with extensive hair growth and short legs, like badgers or wolverines. All the cats listed above are slim and long-legged creatures, with even the lion and tiger being so in proportion. The only family of cats that fits this specification is the lynx family, which includes bobcats. One could mention cougars, pumas and mountain lions, but the hair on these types is too short. Interestingly, many reports and photographs cite two tufts of hair on the ears; one of the main characteristics of the lynx family is such a pair of tufts.
One incident known to the author but unreported may point us further lynx-ward. At Easter 1992, a young accountancy student, Mark, was out walking on Pendle Hill in central Lancashire with his American girlfriend, Heidi. After the walk, Mark turned to Heidi and to their car, parked at a roadside lay-by, and turned his back to the surrounding moors. Suddenly he was conscious of a large brown shape leave the bushes behind him at some speed, and without pausing he pushed Heidi into the car and dived in on top of her. His view of the shape was fleeting as when he turned to confront it, it had gone. But Heidi saw it, and the glimpse she had made her think of bobcats and lynxes that live in the wilds in her home state of Washington. She says it was definitely a cat, the size of a very big dog and dark brown in colour. The cat rushed off into the bushes before either of them could get a good look at it. This could well be someone's ex-pet or the offspring thereof, but could it also be a native cat? Lynxes definitely at one time lived in Britain, but they were almost certainly hunted to extinction by early humans in the Neolithic period.
However, by the same token, it is possible that somewhere along the line, before they died out,some mated with the Scottish wildcat to produce a hybrid, now native, strain that survives today. This may sound fanciful, but is merely a hypothesis that would explain some odd facts. If a small population of these hybrids survived in remote mountainous regions through into the Middle Ages, breeding amongst themselves and other wildcats, surely all the 'evidence' we have would be in tales of great animals with eyes that gleam in lantern light? I shall return to this in a moment. Consider the following, regarding the habits of cats native to Britain.
A well-documented historical case exists (from the 17th century) of a 'wildcat' killing a man4. There is a problem here, though, in that the wildcat seldom grows above four feet in length and is not given to extended attacks on human beings, especially full-grown men. It is a shy and elusive creature, fierce enough, it is true, in its den or with young, but it will disappear into undergrowth rather than confront human beings. This does not seem to gel with the above account, which details a man being attacked, seeking refuge in a building (which is locked) and being unable to get in fights the cat outside. Despite breaking the cat's back with his stick, the cat manages to open enough wounds in his arms and face that before morning the man bleeds to death, next to the body of the cat, which has also succumbed. This certainly does not sound like today's wildcat. Could it be our hybrid? Given that exotic pets were unheard of outside menageries and royalty at this time?
Another thread can perhaps allow some light. Many tales tales exist of so-called 'hellhounds' or 'black dogs', often called 'barguests' in the North. These are frequently said to have 'eyes that drip green fire'1. These are, of course, reports from scared folk usually too busy running in the opposite direction to observe what the animal was. Consider a farm worker, with lantern, walking home across a moor. He sees a large animal on his path. It growls at him, actually in uncertainty and fear. He takes fright, alarmed by tales of ghosts and wolves, and runs; but before he does, he notices that in the light from his lantern, the creature's eyes glow green. Arriving home, he blurts out a tale of a great growling animal with green fiery eyes. Living in a time when big cats were almost unknown, but wolves were commonplace, he associates the animal with canines, not felines. But is he right?
Now shine a light towards your dog's face. Its eyes will glow red, not green. This is the tapetum, a layer in predators' eyes that helps them gather light for night vision. But do the same to your cat, and its eyes will indeed glow green, as will those of big cats. Does this then point to the existence of these animals here in Britain in the mediaeval times of many black dog tales? If one consults any number of books on strange happenings in these islands or even newspaper archives, one will find numerous accounts of sightings which cannot be explained by the at-one-time-native wolves or by farmers' or feral dogs.
So by a process of deduction, we are left with the inevitable premise that somewhere in Britain there are several colonies of medium-sized cats at large, perhaps drawn from a small native population and now augmented by species released since 1976. What, then, are we to do about them?
Those who depend on livestock for their livelihood would argue that they should be systematically hunted down and killed. However, there is a problem here. It cannot be done, quite simply. The cat is nature's finest example of a predator. It is adept at hiding and moving unseen. If the Royal Marines cannot find it, then how can anyone else?
Perhaps it would be best for all concerned if we accept this maybe-new resident in our islands and simply let it be. In today's culture of a new-found respect for the natural kingdom, can we in effect countenance a systematic destruction of what could be becoming a separate species of cat? In any case, we may not have a choice. The creatures do not attack human beings unless provoked (just like a dog) and they don't want to be found. They certainly shouldn't be feared.
Further reading on cat behaviour:
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