A huge wildcat ‘the size of a Labrador’ with ‘big claws’ has been pictured roaming around a back garden in Cambridge.
The mysterious cat was seen by a Cambridge University worker who was watching from his kitchen window and took a photograph.
The man, who asked not to be named, said it wasn’t the first time the unusual animal has visited his garden – this time he was able to capture it on camera.
Big cats have been spotted across the country for over 30 years. As cats such as the so-called Fen Tiger cannot live that long, the cat seen in Cambridge will not have been the infamous Fen Tiger.
Cats like the one spotted in Cambridge will usually live for around 13-14 years, but many live for around just 2-5 years and face harm from other cats, as well as a lack of food and water.
A Cambridge University worker, who wished to remain anonymous, spotted the ‘big cat’ from his kitchen window in central Cambridge on Saturday morning (pictured)
The photographer said it wasn’t the first time the ‘large cat’ has visited Cambridge – but this time he was able to get a picture of the unusual animal exploring his garden
He said: ‘It was around 8 or 8.30am when I saw the animal from my kitchen window,’ he said. ‘I think it somehow keeps coming to this place to hunt rabbits or other small animals.’
He said he initially thought the animal was a certain species of wildcat – the Felis Silvestris – but at closer inspection of the photo it was far too large.
‘Initially I thought it was a wildcat like a Felis Silvestris, but then I went to my colleagues at the university, and they said it can’t have been as this animal was way bigger,’ he said.
Its not just the Fen Tiger! Other sightings across the country show it’s not just the so-called Fen Tiger prowling around
‘Looking at the tail it’s definitely a different species. It is a wild cat but not that species I don’t think.
‘The animal was a brown and black colour with a very long tail that had lots of black circles on it. The tail was so long, and its legs were thick as well with big claws.
‘It was about the size of a fully grown Labrador dog.’
For many years there have been rumours around Cambridgeshire about sightings of a mysterious big cat in the area.
A giant cat believed to be the ‘Fen Tiger’ was also spotted by a couple in Ipswich, who photographed the animal as it prowled 400 yards away from their Airbnb (pictured)
For 30 years residents in the county have reported seeing seeing a large wildcat that they have nicknamed ‘The Fen Tiger’.
The man said he had ‘heard about the mystery of the Fen Tiger’ but wasn’t sure if this animal could be it.
The legend of the Fen Tiger has been around for 30-years.
As big cats such as this cannot live to such an age, the cat spotted in Cambridge will not have been the infamous Fen Tiger.
‘This was a wild cat like people have said the Fen Tiger is and this one is the size of a Labrador dog,’ he said.
The sighting raised suspicion the animal may be the elusive ‘Fen Tiger’ – a local legend which has allegedly been spotted across Cambridgeshire for 30 years.
The most recent suspected sighting of the animal happened behind Abbotsley golf club in St Neots on December 18 last year.
After the man saw the big cat on Saturday he tried to contact the wildlife trust – but because of the coronavirus lockdown there was no immediate answer.
‘I rang the number but because of the pandemic everything has to be done through email so I have sent one and I’m waiting for a reply’, he said.
A giant cat believed to be the ‘Fen Tiger’ was also spotted by a couple in Ipswich, who photographed the animal as it prowled 400 yards away from their Airbnb.
After the sighting in September, Jamie Newby, 46, from Wisbech, told CambridgeshireLive he initially believed it was a Muntjac deer before his fiancée Hayley insisted it looked like a big cat.
‘The size of it instantly struck me. I’d seen a dog walker walking a Labrador in the same exact spot the day before and the cat looked bigger than that,’ he said.
‘The neck, the muscle mass. I’ve read a little more about them and they do hunt early between 6-7am and they like staying on the perimeter of fields.’
He added that, after some research, he concluded the animal must have been a Scottish Wildcat.
‘My fiancée said it had a scary, evil face. She’s never liked cats!’ he said.
Big cat sightings in the UK: Is one prowling your area?
As the legend of the Fen Tiger continues to be one of the most sighted cats in the UK, how have the four-legged felines managed to survive in the wild and how did they get there?
In 1760 a small boy named William Cobbett saw a large cat at Waverley Abbey near Farnborough, since then sightings of wild cats have been well documented.
Before the Dangerous and Wild Animals Act 1976 many people kept wild and exotic animals in their homes as pets. The advent of the act meant many people would need to obtain licences for their pets and therefore it was said that many people simply released their animals.
Other famous cats include the Beast of Bodmin Moor – but scientists took out extensive investigations and found that the urban legend did not exist.
In 2000 a lion-tamer known as One-eyed-Nick, told the Birmingham Post that he had released a panther and a puma in Derbyshire some 25 years before.
Despite this the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has previously said that it has no credible evidence that big cats are breeding in the UK.
What other cats have been spotted across the country and how close are they to your home?
2000-2018: Between the years 2000 and 2018 nine people reported having seen the ‘Beast of Essex’.
2011: The Hampshire tiger caused a major scare, as officers scrambled around and experts came out with tranquilizers, it turned out a local had placed a stuffed toy in a tree
August 2018: A Black Panther was reportedly seen in Huddersfield
April 2019: Panther-like animal spotted in Plympton, Devon, after a spate of sightings in neighbouring Cornwall.
In the same month there were also sightings in thre in the Cotswold village of Broadwell.
One woman spotted the huge beast believed to be the size of an Alsatian in Cornwall
August 2019: Powick Puma spotted in Worcestershire
Locals have dubbed the cat in Worcestershire the Powick Puma, but an animal expert confirmed to MailOnline that the cat was far too small to be a puma – yet too large to be a domestic feline
October 2019: A big cat sighting in Northamptonshire prompted residents with large gardens to be on high alert
February 2020: Residents in Somerset claim they spotted a big cat as ‘large as an Alsatian’
April 2020: Wild cat spotted in Cambridgeshire