UK SIGHTING: Driver describes moment he saw black panther in Ryarsh

A delivery driver has described the moment a big black cat, believed to be panther, loomed up in front of him in a quiet village, sparking a police search and urgent warnings to parents.


Yesterday we reported how a school sent text messages to parents warning them there was a panther on the loose. Today we tracked down the man who spotted the cat.

Paul Turk, from Ditton, was so terrified when he saw the large creature in The Street, Ryarsh, on Wednesday morning he had to take a break at his next destination to calm down.

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NEWSLINK: Cougars Are Returning to the Midwest

The large North American cat known as the cougar, puma, or mountain lion is notoriously elusive, haunting the hills of Hollywood. Though they once ruled the American Midwest, populations have since plummited. But their stealth may be helping to bring them back, allowing them to dominate the region within a few decades, reports Maggie Ryan Sandford for National Geographic.

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NEWSLINK: After eight days on run, tiger captured in Sunderbans village

The tiger that was on the prowl in the Sunderbans' Jharkhali area since the last eight days was finally captured on Saturday evening.

Confirming the news, A Sunderbans official said that the big cat, a female and aged around four years, was trapped in a cage laid in the Asorala area of Jharkhali. Till the last reports came, the foresters have started from the 3 No. Ghat area with the tiger towards the Jharkhali rescue centre.

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NEWSLINK: Big cat wants a well-bred mate

Rajiv Gandhi Zoo to kick off second breeding programme in a decade, as tigress Riddhi gets ready to choose a partner


Five-and-a-half-year-old tigress Riddhi, who was brought to Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park at Katraj a couple of years ago from Aurangabad Zoo, is all set for her first date with either of her male counterparts — Tanaji or Bagyaram.

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ARTICLE: Big cats that once roamed the world have less space to call home

Africa is running out of lions, and scientists are worried. Philipp Henschel studies lions. He says the big cats used to be found on the continents of Africa, Europe, Asia, and even North America.


The 40-year-old scientist says that up until 11,000 years ago, lions roamed much of the world. Now, they are only in the country of India and on the continent of Africa.


Indian officials say only about 500 lions are left in India.


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VIDEO: National Geographic - Champion of the Hunt

Boone Smith challenges the big cats to a hunt.

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VIDEO: Mountain lions on video

It's not everyday you see a big cat in the semi-wild. And I mean three BIG cats. 

Three mountain lions captured on video congregating around a spring-fed pond in Bennett Valley near Annadel State Park. 

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VIDEO: Hamilton Zoo review won't cover big cats despite fatal tiger attack

Hamilton City Council will not review its zoo's keeping of large exotic animals as part of investigations into a fatal tiger attack.


The review of the zoo comes after a fatal tiger attack on curator Samantha Kudeweh on September 20.

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NEWSLINK: Sir Roger Moore Calls On Public To Help Fly 33 Lions Home To Africa

James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore has launched an urgent appeal to the public to help Animal Defenders International fly 33 lions home to Africa.


The big cats endured years of brutality and confinement in circuses in Peru and Columbia but now a perfect home has been found for them in their native Africa.

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VIDEO: Leopard Rescued From Vegas Is Over The Moon For His New Toy

When Zorro was just a young leopard, he had his paws cruelly declawed. So when his owner, a Las Vegas entertainer, turned him over to Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary in 2007, he was at risk of a lifetime of pain from the unnatural procedure.


Fortunately, he was able to undergo a restorative surgery that ensured he could live a life without pain. But his story's an important reminder of the dark practice that often haunts performing or "pet" big cats.

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PHOTOS: Big Cat Moves From Newquay To Australia

Newquay Zoo bids farewell to a four legged resident.


One of its female fishing cats, Maew, is moving to a new home Down Under at Taronga Zoo, in New South Wales, Australia.


Maew (cat in Thai) , aged 3 ½ years old, was born at Newquay Zoo and is moving to Australia as part of the breeding and conservation programme designed to protect the species, classified as "endangered " by the IUCN (International Union For The Conservation of Nature).

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NEWSLINK: Woman thinks a cougar was on her property

Amanda Hilton swears she saw a cougar on her property in Fraserville this week.


She was watching TV at about 9 a.m. Tuesday when she saw movement out the window that looks onto her backyard on Cedar Valley Rd.


"I flung the curtain back and went, 'Oh my God!'" said Hilton, who lives in Fraserville with husband Brad and their six-year-old son.

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NEWSLINK: Evidence of big cats mounts

There is photographic evidence that large predators, including multiple types of big cats, inhabit wooded areas of Steuben and Allegany counties.


Hornell resident Thomas Roselli knows everything about the land he hunts near the Klipnoky State Forest in the Almond/Bishopville/Canaseraga area and few things shock him, but he was surprised to see a bobcat in stalking pose on his trail camera.

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NEWSLINK: Three injured in leopard attack

At least three persons were today injured in leopard attack in a village under Udala block in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.

Earlier this morning, one person was injured in big cat attack as it had strayed into a village in ward no. 12 in the town. The injured–Hari Murmu—was admitted to Udala community health chentre (CHC) for treatment.

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VIDEO: Big cats love boxes too

Big cats are given big boxes at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Fla. just for fun. The results are hysterical, as each cat figures out what the box is and then re-purposes it for their needs.

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NEWSLINK: UMN study says cougars unlikely to settle in northern US

Cougar populations are making a comeback in the Midwest, but the cats likely won't be letting out a big roar in Minnesota anytime soon.


A new study coauthored by a University of Minnesota professor shows that while Minnesota and Wisconsin both have suitable habitats for cougar populations, the big cats are likely to have only very small, if any, breeding numbers in the two states over the next 25 years.


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NEWSLINK:Photos of scrawny-looking lion and tiger raise concerns for Beijing Zoo’s big cats

Zoos bring the thrill of being able to observe wild, exotic animals up close that we normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to see. For young and old alike, seeing one’s favorite animal just a few meters away can be a magical experience, but sadly for the animal involved, the experience may not be a happy one.

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NEWSLINK: Activists decry release of tiger in Panna reserve

A wild tiger captured from a human habitat here was on Friday carted to Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) much to the surprise of activists who alleged that the reserve had turned deadly for big cats due to presence of canine distemper virus (CDV).


The big cat, possibly 3 to 4 years old, was captured from the campus of Central Institute of Agriculture Engineering on Thursday. It was released in an enclosure of Panna Tiger Reserve at around 7.30 am, forest officials said.

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NEWSLINK: Fear of big cats grips Nainital villages

Villagers from the Manora range of Nanital claim that at least four tigers are prowling the area. The animals have killed a number of pets and domestic animals, instilling fear among locals. However, forest officials claim the animals are leopards and not tigers but they have initiated steps to capture the big cats. Divisional forest officer of Nainital forest division Tejasvini Arvind Patil told TOI that protective measures are being taken to avoid loss of life. "The animals must have been leopards not tigers.

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NEWSLINK: Rescued tiger from Bhopal adapting to new environs at Panna Tiger Reserve

A tiger which was rescued from Central Institute of Agriculture Engineering (CIAE) campus here three days ago has started to adapt to the new environment at the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR), officials said.

The stripped-animal had sneaked into CIAE complex in Nabi Bagh area here on Thursday, and was rescued by trained rescue team of Van Vihar National Park.

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NEWSLINK: Rare tiger shot dead by hunter who claims he was 'attacked' by the predator which 'killed his dog'

An unnamed hunter said he was mauled by the rare Amur tiger which bit his legs after killing his dog. The man claimed he was hunting wild boar when the tiger pounced. He killed the big cat in self defence, he said.

But investigators are now checking this version for any clues that the 60 year old could have been a tiger poacher. Hunting the Siberian or Amur tiger is illegal but the animals are valuable on the black market, especially for export to China for medicinal cures. The hunter was rescued and rushed to hospital after he used his cell phone to alert relatives of the attack.

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ARTICLE: Threatened cheetahs: why saving big cats means getting big dogs

Nothing in this world moves like the cheetah: from zero to 70 kilometres per hour in just four seconds, 7.5 metres per stride, their feet barely touching the ground, speeds reaching a jaw-dropping 125 kilometres per hour.

But cheetahs — the world’s fastest land animals — are also speeding toward their extinction.

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ARTICLE: How to Find Cheetah Poop, and Other Stories from the Field

I’ve seen this sequence time and again in any number of wildlife documentaries: There’s a cheetah. It stalks a gazelle, body slung low, shoulder blades pumping like pistons. It launches forward with astonishing acceleration, head level to the ground, spine flexing dramatically, hips and shoulders swinging out at impossible angles. The cheetah reaches out with a paw, trips the doomed gazelle, and clamps its jaws onto its throat, closing its windpipe and suffocating it. Within a minute, it’s all over. End scene.

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ARTICLE: Paleolithic humans in Europe dealt with saber-toothed cats, study shows

Any artist-created images you may have seen depicting prehistoric humans hunting or fighting with saber-toothed cats may not represent a scene very far from reality about 300,000 years ago when Lower Paleolithic humans actually did share the same environment with the big cats in what is present-day Europe.

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NEWSLINK: Activists say escaped tigers highlight Mexico’s need for a wild animal sanctuary

Police in Mexico are on the lookout for two tigers that escaped from a ranch in the western state of Michoacán on Sunday afternoon.


Backed by local zookeepers, police officers have been patrolling the surrounding area in car and on foot in a bid to capture the felines that are considered a risk to the population.

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ARTICLE: Phantom of the Forest: Cougars in Eastern US Woodlands

The phantom, it’s been called, this big cat that now prowls western North and South America forests from the Yukon to Patagonia. It has dozens of monikers, from panther to puma to mountain lion, catamount to deer tiger to cougar.

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ARTICLE: 35 Things We Learned from the Roar Commentary

Roar is an accidental gem of suspense and absurdity that really has to be seen to be believed. Part terrifying animal attack film, part goofy family film, it’s an epic of entertaining irresponsibility.


The film bombed in 1981, but thankfully Drafthouse Films CEO Tim League and friends recognized it as a movie worth saving nearly thirty five years later.

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ART: Mystery big cat rises from ashes

The black panther of Lancefield has been the stuff of legend (and slow news’ weeks) for decades.


So, understandably, residents were somewhat bemused when a larger-than-life sculpture mysteriously appeared on the High Street median strip overnight on October 23.


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NEWSLINK: Cougar shot dead after Halloween night sightings prompted fear for trick-or-treaters

An adult cougar shot and killed by police in a New Westminster residential neighbourhood on Halloween night was in good health and was likely dining on raccoons, says the B.C. Conservation Service.


Conservation officer James Kelly told The Province that the big cat was first spotted at about 7:40 p.m. Saturday by someone in the 400-block Glenbrook Drive.

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NEWSLINK: Elephants brought in to push rogue tigers back into the jungle

Smita and Geeta, female elephants of Satpura tiger reserve, finally arrived in Bhopal to track movement of tigers, T1 and T2, in Kaliasot and Kerwa forest areas.

After at least 80 big cat sightings in 30 days and their intrusion in human habitat adjacent to the two main reservoirs, the forest department decided to rope in the 'two jumbos' to track the striped beasts and push them into the jungle.

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