Thames invaders...

From the Metro of 11th October 2012: Meet the red signal crayfish and fellow foreigner the goldfish which are just two of the species to have made the River Thames "one of the most highly invaded freshwater systems in the world." The intruders are among 96 non-native species now living on the river and its tributaries, scientists from Queen Mary University of London found.

Is a rogue feral cat, or something much larger on the prowl in Bromley ?

Read more at the Newsshopper

Has a black leopard been spotted in a Croydon allotment ?

During the week of 14 - 20th September a woman had an unnerving experience in a Croydon allotment, 4 pm one afternoon whilst in the company of her 17 month old son. A large black cat with a blotchy coat ambled just a few metres from her and headed off towards a park, disturbing a number of birds in the trees. The witness described the animal as muscular with heavy, padded feet. This is currently under investigation.

'Black puma' painting photo

Here's the recent 'black puma' painting I purchased. If anyone has any information on what book this image may have come from please do get in touch. This is a rather extraordinary find, as a melanistic puma in the flesh would actually be!

Puma's and cougars according to the Croydon Advertiser

It's such a shame when someone phones you up to interview you for a newspaper and despite seeming to be genuinely interested, make so many errors in relaying the info back for the article. The Croydon Advertiser interviewed Neil Arnold recently regarding recent Surrey 'big cat' sightings, and yet managed to feature the mistake of the century, claiming that Mr Arnold said that there 'cougars and pumas' on the prowl...oh well, if you're interested, you can read the article HERE, complete with idiotic comments at the bottom.

The London 'black puma' mystery

In the 2009 CFZ Yearbook, author, zoologist and friend Karl Shuker spoke of his delight at finding a rare print of a 'black puma', which he discovered during a trip to the 'world of books' at Hay On Wye. The print shows a fascinating cat, of dark pelage yet with a slate grey underside, and beneath it the heading, 'The Puma In The Gardens of the Zoological Society.'

The colour print - if based on a real animal, as it seems to be - suggests that at one time a melanistic puma was present at the London Zoo. The existence of melanstic puma's has long been debated, and for more information on this debate read Karl Shuker's fascinating blog post HERE  There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that black puma's roam the wilds of Britain, or the world for that matter and there appears to be a lot of confusion as many 'researchers' and the like have put forward the theory that the black cats often reported in the UK are melanistic puma. This is nigh on imposisble, and reading Mr Shuker's post explains why, and it seems that too many people are all too eager to create an extra mystery when one is not required. What is clear is that black leopards do roam parts of Britain, and that melanistic puma's do not exist, and yet here we have an intriguing print showing a black puma that was as said to have been housed at an English zoo. Of course, the animal may well have been exhibited as some sort of freak, and while such an individual may have existed in a zoo, it is nigh on impossible for a breeding colony to exist in the UK. What many people do not understand is that for a puma, let alone leopard to be completely jet black is also impossible, the leopard although appearing extremely dark will still be the darkest form of brown with the rosette pattern showing in certain light. Froma  distance the black leopard will appear jet black but it isn't. A black puma, even if such a beast did exist, would have a slate grey underside, and these type of animals have no reason to exist in the wilds of the UK, but the rare print is still intriguing, more so in the sense that I now own a copy, after picking one up in a local market shop for the sum of £3! The gorgeous colour print could well be one of the most mysterious paintings I've seen and would be interested to know of anyone else who has a copy or if anyone knows of a black puma being kept at the Zoological Gardens maybe two centuries ago.

I mention the 'black puma' and other mystery cats in my book MYSTERY ANIMALS OF THE BRITISH ISLES: LONDON, but however rare the print may be it appears that an actual specimen of a living black puma is rarer still, especially in the wilds of the UK.

I'll post a photo of the print soon.

Hilariously dimissive article at The Daily Mail

So, there are no big cats roaming the UK! Well I never....since the Essex lion farce all manner of 'people' have wormed their way out of the woodwork to scoff at big cat reports, even though those who research them or believe in them knew full well that the Essex lion affair was just a case of hysteria. Even so, take a look at this ludicrous blog: http://hanlonblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/08/the-weird-history-of-the-essex-lion-and-his-relatives-.html#comments from a clearly intelligent chap who states quite categorically that there's no evidence for exotic cats in the UK and that they just be lumped alongside folkloric creatures such as Spring Heeled Jack. The article dismisses the thousands of exotic cat reports without once looking at a shred of evidence and I'm pretty sure this was written to massage the ego of the journalist in question or to spark a bit of controversy. Whilst stories such as the Essex lion make a mockery of genuine research, and yes, we've heard these stories countless times before, we've also heard the journalistic view before too - dire salivating from sceptical folk who venture no further than their keyboard in their quest for truth.