The Courier today has this as the front page.
A passenger in a car stuck in traffic at Copley reported a large cat which was: "definitely not a domestic cat and about the size of a large dog. It was 10ft from the road and moving toward the traffic , which surprised me because you'd think it would be scared."
"It looked like a lynx with black and brown patterned markings. It was like a Bengal cat but much bigger." She saw it coming down a side lane towards Wakefield Rd.
My comments are that scale of objects can be very deceptive, especially when looking through or along things like lanes, because distances can be hard to judge. Why do people who are trained observers and outdoors a lot more than most people, such as birdwatchers and countryside volunteers not report seeing these big cats? Ten feet from traffic? Also why are tracks never found on muddy river banks?
Totally agree Steve.
ReplyDeleteI remember a while back whilst walking through fog on Moss Moor (and getting lost!) I came across, looming out of the fog, what I thought was a caravan with a round window. It turned out to be a washing machine.
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteTen feet from the road is practically on the pavement! It makes me wonder why the driver and the front seat passenger(?) weren't alerted to it, especially as the car was almost(?) stationary at the time.
I doubt even the most incompetent observer would be hard pushed to confuse a large cat with any breed of dog at close range - perhaps it was only the briefist of glimpses.It also doesn't say how far away she was from the "catbeast".
The article seem to raise more questions then answers.
I'd pay good money just for a one second view.
I walked the towpath from Sowerby Bridge to Sterne Bridge and up Washer Lane on Tuesday am, Steve, and none of the walkers/dog walkers mentioned any unusual sightings.
ReplyDeleteBut we had great close up views of a couple of Jays !
Mike
Hi, sorry I'm new to this blog. I know its nearly 4 years old this but I have reliable information from Wildlife Officers in the area that this sighting WAS genuine. As far as they know, the animal is still in the area and is a local escape. They reckon there is almost zero chance of catching it and as it is no threat to people or livestock they have left it alone. Not my opinion this, just what I've been told. Hope this helps. Brian
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