Back to 2008 English News

  What is Killing the Moorland Lambs

Big Cats in Britain

English News - can you add to this story? email here

BCIB NEW blog spot

    
   
   
   
   

What is Killing the Moorland Lambs By Andrew Baldwin

Huddersfield Daily Examiner: 14th June 2008

Huddersfield Daily Examiner
   
WHAT is the shadowy beast that roams the moors?
Sightings of a mystery creature have been reported in the Examiner over many years, with a strange big cat being spotted in Hade Edge, Denby Dale, Skelmanthorpe, Scissett and even Birchencliffe, on the fringe of urban Huddersfield.
Now one of the biggest sheep farmers in the area has sparked new speculation that there is something unusual out there.
Chris Crowther farms 12,000 acres of land stretching between Meltham and Greenfield, along the A635.
He has found the macabre remains of a savaged lamb for the second time in four months raising the question of just what was it that was responsible for the killing.
The tangled coats of the animals had been ripped off and the bones, including the ribcages, picked clean of flesh.
Mr Crowther says: "They were stripped clean. It was as good a job as a butcher would do.
"I don't think a fox did this. The lambs would have been far too heavy and big to drag."
Initially, he didn't say anything for fear that it would encourage people to take to the hills in search of the big cat.
But when word got out he was contacted by a farmer at Wessenden, near Marsden, who told him had seen a large black creature lurking near sheep flocks.
It was no surprise to Mr Crowther, who does not doubt its existence.
The father-of-three first saw a puma-like animal four years ago and has had several encounters since.
"I saw it in the dusk when I was checking sheep and it was there. It seemed more scared of me and turned and ran away," he says.
According to the British Big Cats Society, the number of animals like panthers, pumas and lynx in the wild are on the increase.
However, some reports, including an incident in which a panther skull was found in the English countryside, are known to be hoaxes.
But many researchers believe the weight of evidence is so great that there can be no doubt about their existence.
A common theory is that the introduction of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976 forced many owners to dump their exotic pets in remote areas of the British Isles, rather than have them destroyed.
The abandonment of dangerous animals even gave rise to urban myths about crocodiles living in Londons sewer network.
It has been speculated that, as the average life span of a big cat is about 20 years and the animals are still being spotted 30 years after the Acts introduction, isolated animals have clustered together and have established breeding colonies in the wild.
Just two years ago a pub near Uppermill became a hotspot for sightings of a beast.
Michael Taylor, who had run the Church Inn, near Saddleworth Church, since 1992, spotted the creature with his grandson Ayrton, who was seven at the time.
Mr Taylor only revealed the sighting a fortnight later, fearing he might be ridiculed.
He said: "It was ferocious looking and had a broad face and was about four times the size of a domestic cat. It looked quite nasty and had elfin ears.
"I think there's more to the moors than meets the eye."
In Meltham, Mr Crowther is stepping up surveillance of his flock.
"My two sons are patrolling the area between Greenfield and Meltham on their quad bikes. We are being very careful," he said.

Do you have any information on the above reports. Were you the person involved, or are you aware of any more sightings in this area. We would appreciate any information that you could give us.

Have your say on the forum.