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You are here: Southwark \ News \ SOUTHWARK 'PUMA' SPOTTED
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SOUTHWARK 'PUMA' SPOTTED
2 June 2008
THE BEAST OF BOROUGH?
By David Yuill
AN EXTREMELY rare report of a wild puma wondering the streets of Southwark last month have set 'Big Cat' watchers on red alert over the sensational claim.
The 'tanned small cougar', described as almost twice the size of a domestic cat, was apparently spotted wandering near the entrance of Southwark Police station on Borough High Street and the news was reported to Neil Arnold, who runs Kent's Big Cat research.
'Big Cat' specialist Arnold told the 'News': "A courier that works all hours in that area called Stephen Burns contacted me. He has e-mailed me frequently and is convinced by what he saw: a small tanned coloured puma, 100 per cent. He sent me a grainy photo and told me: 'I tried to attract its attention but it paid no heed to me whatsoever and walked through the vehicle entrance to the police station.'"
Arnold, a detailed researcher and published author on wild cats, added: "I had a report about a year ago with a similar sighting near the Tower Hotel. A man had looked out of his window and reported a 'bizarre tanned cat' which may have been the same cat, another puma or maybe a lynx.
"I get sightings all the time, perhaps 250-300 a year. They are very common in the Kent area, but it is rare to hear of big cats that central. I would say this is the most central I have had reported. I get them regularly in Woolwich, Plumpstead and areas of Bromley.
"London is pretty busy, that cat could have a territory of 80-square mile and would move in line with the river or the train tracks. It would follow the scent of domestic cats or foxes that are often in those areas and found headless or mauled."
Arnold believes that there is a thriving population of 'big cats' in the suburbs of London that are the descendants of a fashionable craze that passed over thirty years ago. He said: "The Surrey Puma was very popular in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but they were just got rid of; simply let loose in the wild. They have now become English. They should have died out had they not been breeding with something by now, but we have black leopards and pumas and with the amount of sightings we get - they must be mating with something.
"I think its fine. It's mankind's way of restoring nature. We drove out the wolf and the boar which were a threat and dangerous over time. The folklore of hunting such animals is long gone. But it is not a mystery at all anymore for such cats to wander freely."
The sighting is believed to have taken place in the early hours of Tuesday, April 22, although a police spokesman denied all knowledge: "We have not had any reports. There is nothing on the CCTV and no further evidence to support any reports."
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Comments (2)
1. At 10:14 PM on 05 Jun 2008, Neil Arnold wrote:
After reading mention of my report and investigation, can I simply say that there was no grainy photo sent by Mr Burns, he sent me a photo of the police station. Also, these animals are not thriving because of the animals released in the '60s and '70s, the 1976 Wild Animals Act simply added to the situation. And to say that these cats have, "become English" is laughable, what I said was, these are British exotics now and not animals imported from other countries.I also never said, "breeding with something", leopards breed with leopards, pumas breed with pumas, etc.
I appreciate the press showing an interest but please quote correctly, and as for the police spokesman, hopeless. Why do the police think that if they've received no reports then there can't be any animals out there ? Rubbish.
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2. At 10:07 PM on 07 Jun 2008, Martin Payne wrote:
After reading the article about a puma sighting in Southwark, I now think that's what I saw last Saturday morning (31st May) on the sight of the recently demolished London Park Hotel. At the time I couldn't work out what it was - it was too large for a domestic cat and didn't move like a fox or a dog. It makes a bit more sense now.
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