On the trail of Scotland’s mysterious big cats | Global News Avenue

It’s been nearly 45 years since a native American big cat was captured in the Scottish Highlands.

The female cougar, later nicknamed “Felicity,” was captured by a farmer frustrated by a series of brutal attacks on livestock.

He set a trap using a cage filled with sheepshead bait.

But was the cougar responsible for the killing, or was it unknowingly part of an elaborate hoax? Why do big cat sightings continue after her arrest?

Felicity’s well-preserved body lies in a glass display case at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery.

Back in 1980, while she was still alive, she became the prime suspect in sheep attacks in and around Cannich. Cannish is a community situated on the edge of Glen Affric’s vast expanse of hills, lakes and woodland.

Journalist Iain MacDonald was a reporter for the BBC at the time.

“It all started a few years ago with stories about big cats – people seeing them, people finding sheep and other animals visibly torn apart and with their bones smashed,” he recalled.

Ian said some people were skeptical of the reports, while others believed there was something wrong.

He said: “It’s a bit like the Loch Ness Monster.

“You may or may not believe it.”

Ian said local police were interested “to a certain extent”.

Later it was revealed that a farmer, Ted Noble, had trapped a large cat.

Mr Noble lost his livestock to the attack and reported seeing a large cat stalking his Shetland pony.

The media descended on Ted’s farm.

“It was a circus,” Ian said.

“The poor beast was caged, growling and hissing at everyone and a bunch of reporters, photographers and videographers milling around.

“That’s a little weird.”

Not everyone believes Felicity was behind the attack.

There are some red flags.

Experts described her as old, docile and overweight. She also suffers from arthritis.

Some thought she was an abandoned pet and was even used to deceive Mr. Noble.

Felicity was taken to the care of Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore.

Ian interviews the owner of the park, Eddie Aubert.

“Eddie said ‘This beast hasn’t been out in the wild for half an hour. It’s been fed and well cared for’,” Ian said.

“He quite suspected she had been haunting the Highlands for many years.”

Ian had heard stories about Felicity Park, who acted like a house cat.

“People could scratch her behind the ears with it and there’s a story where one of the keepers would walk around the park with Felicity on her shoulders,” he said.

Felicity spent the rest of her life in the park. She died in 1985.

Reports of big cat sightings have increased almost unabated since Felicity’s capture.

“We’re still seeing new sightings regularly,” said Paul McDonald of the Scottish Big Cat Research Centre.

The project has a network of 80 volunteers and has collected more than 1,600 big cat sightings since 1947.

Recent encounters include:

• October 2018 – Big Black Cat’s Report in East Ayrshire. A police helicopter carried out the search but the Scottish SPCA said photos taken by members of the public showed a large domestic cat
• August 2010 – Police warn of reports of big cats Easter Ross and Sutherland. A ‘very large, muscular, square-headed black cat’ found near Tyne
• July 2010 – Police say a black cat “the size of a German shepherd” has been found Kim Craig In the Woods of Inshriach
• December 2008 – A woman reports she was attacked by a large cat while emptying a litter box Easter Rose Alnes
• October 2005 – Fife Police have displayed a giant paw print model in an attempt to identify a cat-like creature known as “The Cat”. barbirini’s beasts

Paul, a sword maker from Borders, Scotland who grew up in Lochaber, helped set up the organization in 2019.

He has been fascinated by Scotland’s mysterious cats since he witnessed them in person in the late 1980s.

Paul said he and a friend were traveling on a train near Glenfinnan when they spotted what he described as a melanistic leopard, also known as a black panther.

“It had a body about 4 to 5 feet long, a long tail and muscular shoulders, and it slowly slithered away,” he said.

Paul believes many big cats are pets that were abandoned after being introduced. Dangerous Wildlife Act 1976.

“People used to keep them in their apartments,” he said.

The law requires people to purchase a license and keep the animals in appropriately sized enclosures.

Paul said: “I think the owners have held multiple releases and their other option is to destroy the cats.

“The illegal trade in exotic animals has since increased the release of these animals.”

Scotland’s nature agency NatureScot provides advice on non-native mammals in the wild and has Information on its website About how to report unusual species.

A spokesman said: “While we do see one or two big cat sightings each year, none of the reports submitted over the past 34 years have provided sufficient evidence to conclude the presence of big cats.

“The last confirmed sighting of a big cat in the wild in Scotland was in 1980.”