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| In your opinion what are alien big cats most likely to be? |
| Escapees from collections, breeding in the UK countryside |
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43% |
[ 28 ] |
| A species of endemic British big cat somehow overlooked by science |
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4% |
[ 3 ] |
| Zooform Phenomena - animal-shaped manifestations of paranormal activity |
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9% |
[ 6 ] |
| Misidentifications of big dogs, normal cats etc |
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15% |
[ 10 ] |
| A big hoax |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Summat else |
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3% |
[ 2 ] |
| All of the above |
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23% |
[ 15 ] |
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| Total Votes : 64 |
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rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21364 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
 Posted: 22-02-2013 16:08 Post subject: |
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All good points about photography, Eve. Another point is that digital cameras need switching on, and then they take a little more time to focus themselves - which is not conducive to capturing a fleeting glimpse of something!
And some creatures with sharp hearing might well be spooked by the sounds the camera makes doing these things. |
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gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13561 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 22-02-2013 19:09 Post subject: |
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| It seems difficult to believe a witness could mistake some domestic cat or dog for an ABC for about 20 minutes in bright sunlight, doesn't it? A very convincing account, Eve. |
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| Mouldy13 Yeti Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Total posts: 73 Location: Halifax West Yorkshire Age: 56 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 22-02-2013 19:55 Post subject: |
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| gncxx wrote: | | It seems difficult to believe a witness could mistake some domestic cat or dog for an ABC for about 20 minutes in bright sunlight, doesn't it? A very convincing account, Eve. |
A few years ago one of my neighbours rang me up (strange I thought as she lives next door) and in a quiet, worried voice told me to look into our back garden. "Can you see it?" she said "its huge"!!!
"it" happened to be our black tom-cat Clarence, a very large and pugnacious character but a domestic cat nonetheless.
Our neighbour was well acquainted with him but still thought he was a "panther"
Food for thought. |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13561 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 23-02-2013 18:59 Post subject: |
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| Bloody hell! How big was this cat? (If you don't mind me being nosey). |
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| Mouldy13 Yeti Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Total posts: 73 Location: Halifax West Yorkshire Age: 56 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 24-02-2013 14:59 Post subject: |
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| gncxx wrote: | | Bloody hell! How big was this cat? (If you don't mind me being nosey). |
He was very big but, according to my wife who is a veterinary nurse, "within the parameters for a domestic cat, but definitely at the top end of the spectrum"
The strange thing was our neighbour was familiar with him having seen him most days as he wandered the area beating up any unfortunate critters that crossed his path. |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13561 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 24-02-2013 21:03 Post subject: |
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| Hmm, that should have cleared at least some conundrums up, but actually makes them more mysterious. Is there a common state of mind which can make the familiar unfamiliar (non-drug related)? And does this affect how we see animals? |
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| oldrover Great Old One Joined: 18 Oct 2009 Total posts: 2146 Location: Wales Gender: Male |
| Posted: 24-02-2013 21:54 Post subject: |
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| Yes it's just one of the many glitches in how we perceive things. |
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| Mouldy13 Yeti Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Total posts: 73 Location: Halifax West Yorkshire Age: 56 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 25-02-2013 20:06 Post subject: |
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| gncxx wrote: | | Hmm, that should have cleared at least some conundrums up, but actually makes them more mysterious. Is there a common state of mind which can make the familiar unfamiliar (non-drug related)? And does this affect how we see animals? |
is it possible that the initial impression "wow look at the size of that cat, it must be a panther" somehow becomes fixed in our perceptions? so that a shadow which we initially thought must be a ghost, for example becomes fixed as that ghost?
any psychologists on here able to comment on this? |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13561 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-02-2013 00:20 Post subject: |
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| I'm not a psychologist, but you would have thought if you saw a big, black domestic cat you would immediately think it was exactly that rather than leap to some fantastical panther-based conclusion. Er, I would assume that, anyway. |
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| titch4 Yeti Joined: 17 Feb 2013 Total posts: 33 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 26-02-2013 00:50 Post subject: |
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But what about the big black cat eve seen? AND the sheep seen it as well, so where the sheep also mistaking an ordinary moggie for an ABC?
I tend to disbelieve large cats are stalking the British country side, but some eye witness statements make me pause and consider. |
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| oldrover Great Old One Joined: 18 Oct 2009 Total posts: 2146 Location: Wales Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-02-2013 02:41 Post subject: |
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| gncxx wrote: | | I'm not a psychologist, but you would have thought if you saw a big, black domestic cat you would immediately think it was exactly that rather than leap to some fantastical panther-based conclusion. Er, I would assume that, anyway. |
Naturally you'd assume that. The thing is though time and again people have been proven beyond any reasonable doubt to have done just that. So we're certain that happens, big black cats roaming the countryside though no evidence at all.
| Quote: | | AND the sheep seen it as well, so where the sheep also mistaking an ordinary moggie for an ABC? |
In my experience sheep tend to suddenly mistake the three feet of tarmac in front of a moving car as the safest place to stand out of a whole barren mountain. |
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| PaulTaylor Yeti Joined: 27 Jan 2013 Total posts: 79 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 26-02-2013 08:32 Post subject: |
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| oldrover wrote: | | Quote: | | AND the sheep seen it as well, so where the sheep also mistaking an ordinary moggie for an ABC? |
In my experience sheep tend to suddenly mistake the three feet of tarmac in front of a moving car as the safest place to stand out of a whole barren mountain. |
Funny how sheep run away from everything and everyone except oncoming vehicles. My theory is that evolution has taught sheep that inanimate objects don't generally move and pose no threat. So strong is this instinct that, in spite of the evidence of their senses, they figure, "Oh well! It must be an optical illusion making it seem to move, because rocks and trees and things don't move of their own accord." So they end up decorating the bonnet of a transit van.
Or, of course, sheep could just be thick! |
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| oldrover Great Old One Joined: 18 Oct 2009 Total posts: 2146 Location: Wales Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-02-2013 13:43 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Or, of course, sheep could just be thick! |
An intriguing thought there. |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13561 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-02-2013 19:42 Post subject: |
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| Coincidentally (or was it?!) I saw a big, black cat today but it wasn't so big I'd mistake it for a panther, and I immediately thought it was a domestic cat. Which it was. |
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| Mythopoeika Boring petty conservative
Joined: 18 Sep 2001 Total posts: 9109 Location: Not far from Bedford Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 26-02-2013 20:51 Post subject: |
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| oldrover wrote: | | Quote: | | Or, of course, sheep could just be thick! |
An intriguing thought there. |
It's just woolly-headed thinking. |
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