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"A so-called “Labrador-sized” cat filmed prowling a field near a Cotswold pub by Landlord Ed Simpson from the first floor window of his village pub in Broadwell, has been causing quite a stir on social media.
Admittedly, it is very difficult to see what species has been recorded in the grainy video, as the animal situated in the background is somewhat distorted by foliage in the foreground, blocking a good clear view of the beast.
However, when comparing the dimensions of the mystery cat with the tree in the video, one must admit the creature does look larger than one might expect from a domestic moggie. It is often said that the morphology and movements of domestic cats observed or filmed at great distances can easily be mistaken for those of genuine big cats such as leopards, but it must also be said the same applies vice versa. If specific features are unclear, it must also be possible (however unlikely) that black leopards observed or filmed from such distances, might well be mistaken for large moggies, especially when there are no comparable objects in the video.
Unfortunately, the animal in this video is just too blurry to specifically identify and is probably nothing more than a reasonably large domestic cat. It’s gracile movements also imply this to be likely true, however, it is indeed impossible to be certain from the video alone. It would be a good idea for someone to measure the approximate dimensions of the tree in the video and measure the distance between the tree, the animal and the observation point.
Ed Simpson said:
“We were upstairs and saw something out of the window and said ‘look at that’!”
Bar manager Kerry Hogg, 56, first spotted the animal out of the first floor window while she was in the room talking with Ed and his wife. Kerry agreed that the animal was approximately the size of a Labrador, but clearly moved in the manner of a cat.
Indeed it does.
There have been other, equally unreliable reports coming in over the last few weeks. Steve Swatton, 63, claims to have observed a large black and white cat (sounds like a domestic) on the outskirts of Plymouth, Devon and Becky Abrey filmed a black felid in Praa Sands near Penzance, which, based on the details of the image, was undoubtedly that of a black domestic cat.
Are there big cats still stalking these areas of the country? Possibly!
Are these examples indicative of their existence?
Probably not!"
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