About 20 years ago a friend was riding her horse with others on the Moor near South Brent. All the horses bolted with no warning and when one lady turned her head to find out why, she saw a puma
@@explorationsouthwest8851I just stumbled on to your channel..... I was stationed at RAF St Mawgan, as a young US Marine. We conducted our field training in Dartmoor . On one particular evening we were practicing night operations on a week long field exercise. After a day of finding sheep kills, we did out night ops and were moving to an area to sleep for a few hours before daybreak. Something was following us, we could hear it, but not see it. we moved out at day brake to move to another location, again more sheep kills, and as evening fell we could hear the noises again. This time a few of the guys had flash lights ready, and shot the light in the direction of the noise...and a pair of glowing eyes were looking at us, they blinked and appeared to turn away....One of the guys said " Holy shit , that's a mountian lion" (he was from Montana, and well familiar with them). He went on to explain how they will "escort" humans through thier territory, just watching at a distance, then when thier curiosity is filled, they move off..... Those days now long gone I have learned much about mountian lions, and I'm convinced they are there in Dartmoor, You'll find tracks, but be hard pressed to ever see one, even on trail cam. If you do see one it's because the cat screwed up and it will vanish quickly to reestablish its hidden position. That said, they avoid humans like the plague, and operate almost exclusively at night. There is no reason to be afraid of them. they only go after humans if starving, or sick ( very sick)..If you can find one, get a trail cam that uses thermal imaging, they can see the uv light that trail cams use, and will avoid them..... Good luck and keep us posted! Forget the chickens ,use rabbits, or mutton......😊😊😊
I know where that cave is... about 15yrs ago, me and my mate used it as a kitchen area while we hammock camped due to the very steep slope. However, when we got to the last farm field before entering the wooded area, from the south iirc, we made a grisly discovery. In the north western corner were 3 slaughtered sheep, ripped to shit. In the opposite corner were the rest of the flock, huddled together in panic and making lots of noise. The carcases were still steaming.... Needless to say, we didn't sleep well that night! Ask the farmer about it. On the other side of the moor we saw a tan coloured big cat legging it through the gorse bushes. I did have a blurred picture of its back end and tail. Me and my dad have both seen black ones in the western New Forest and my uncle saw a tan one in Wareham Forest. About 23yrs ago i lived in a rural village called Harefield near Ruislip just within the M25 . I used to walk my dog at midnight quite often. One night he was very spooked and we saw a big black cat lope across the road to the church about 50ft away. Needless to say we went home pretty damned quick... next morning i found black fur on a barbed wire fence where the cat had gone so i know it was real!😂😂 There were many odd things happen there in the fields and woods, usually for a week or two every 6 months or so. One night we found obvious big cat paw prints in the snow leading across a field to a fenced off wooded and overgrown WW1 bomb crater (yes, really...) but they never came out. Brisk walk home again that night! So yeah, theyre out there and if you spend enough stealthy time outdoors with open eyes youll find evidence or even see them. Good luck!
I find all this big cat stuff very interesting... I've seen a few vids and I've got to say - yours are probably the most engaging - most are just talking to camera whereas you are actually out there! Great work 👏
The cat shown at the beginning isn't a puma it's a lynx. Pumas wouldn't have a bone yard as they are constantly on the move, they don't stay in one area, and their home range of a large male can be from 150 sqkm to 1500, lowest range being 25sq but that is unlikely. They don't stay put.
Thanks... It's a real shame that some deer kicked mud all over the lens! There were a load running about an hour before the cat appeared... With these vids, it always seems like we're a couple of weeks behind it... But we're currently working on a hot tip of just a few days... Watch this space!
Leopards of course can also hide up trees. Think about their behaviour in Africa.... a tree provides safety from 🦁 but also is a great viewing platform. Not much can outclimb a leopard!
Iv tracked deer and muntjac for 30 yrs...iv only come across 2 areas of big cats and seen 1 hunting sika deer...I'm in sussex...I'm out 5 days a week tracking so I'm about about and in all that time seen 1..even tho a few have been openly released yrs bk
It's been years since I visited Twyst! Has it fallen down yet? I made a video years ago using my drone... The only time I ever crashed was on that farm!
Haha. You’re braver than I am with those drones. Yes is still very much standing. There were 2 horse carcasses. Fresh and looking very much like what you find. Rib cage popped completely stripped
Its crazy, when making these videos, we come across so many people including alot of farmers who will happily tell you their experiences but will never go on camera!
Looks pretty interesting, especially that scat... As you know, I'm a bit of a sceptic, but I hope you get something conclusive and make me eat my words! Good luck!
In one of the other videos, it talks about that - Plymouth used to have a zoo and 2 cats went missing. Also, laws came in preventing people from owning big cats so lots were released!
Yes, it probably escaped from a circus or a zoo. It is a pity holding such animals in cages so that humans can see them. It certainly wouldn't attack humans.
So it's finally been proven there is big cats about but they are watching you while you search for them.they are top aphex predators in their own world here with nothing to compete with they could potentially be right at home here there's plenty of game for them and decent range of habitat.keep your eyes peeled and get yourself a bigger dog or two.😸😹
There's definitely something lurking about! I have a feeling that alot of the sightings that people told us about was the escaped cat from the zoo - it had been on the loose for 3 months! I think I'll do a night time hunt - see what we get!
@@explorationsouthwest8851 You want your eyesight checking if you think that looks anything like a feral domestic cat.. That's as bad a mistaking a donkey for a horse.. Most big cats were deliberately released into the wild in the mid 70's when the dangerous wild animal act was introduced to avoid prosecution.. Given most will not live past 15 years they will all be dead by now and there was never enough of them to establish a breeding population.. Today our countryside is littered with many thousands of committed wildlife photographers.. They explore every inch of the British Isles.. If there were any big cats at all they would have been found long ago..
@@Forestfalcon1You are badly informed. They breed successfully and have often been seen with cubs. Both Black Leopard and Puma/ Mountain Lion. They are still seen today all across the UK and Ireland. France, Spain too, and Australia and New Zealand.
About 20 years ago a friend was riding her horse with others on the Moor near South Brent. All the horses bolted with no warning and when one lady turned her head to find out why, she saw a puma
I definitely think there was more about then,... That is an area we've got our eye on for part four - you're not the only one with a story to tell 👍
@@explorationsouthwest8851I just stumbled on to your channel.....
I was stationed at RAF St Mawgan, as a young US Marine. We conducted our field training in Dartmoor . On one particular evening we were practicing night operations on a week long field exercise. After a day of finding sheep kills, we did out night ops and were moving to an area to sleep for a few hours before daybreak. Something was following us, we could hear it, but not see it. we moved out at day brake to move to another location, again more sheep kills, and as evening fell we could hear the noises again. This time a few of the guys had flash lights ready, and shot the light in the direction of the noise...and a pair of glowing eyes were looking at us, they blinked and appeared to turn away....One of the guys said " Holy shit , that's a mountian lion" (he was from Montana, and well familiar with them). He went on to explain how they will "escort" humans through thier territory, just watching at a distance, then when thier curiosity is filled, they move off.....
Those days now long gone I have learned much about mountian lions, and I'm convinced they are there in Dartmoor, You'll find tracks, but be hard pressed to ever see one, even on trail cam. If you do see one it's because the cat screwed up and it will vanish quickly to reestablish its hidden position. That said, they avoid humans like the plague, and operate almost exclusively at night.
There is no reason to be afraid of them. they only go after humans if starving, or sick ( very sick)..If you can find one, get a trail cam that uses thermal imaging, they can see the uv light that trail cams use, and will avoid them.....
Good luck and keep us posted!
Forget the chickens ,use rabbits, or mutton......😊😊😊
I know where that cave is... about 15yrs ago, me and my mate used it as a kitchen area while we hammock camped due to the very steep slope. However, when we got to the last farm field before entering the wooded area, from the south iirc, we made a grisly discovery. In the north western corner were 3 slaughtered sheep, ripped to shit. In the opposite corner were the rest of the flock, huddled together in panic and making lots of noise. The carcases were still steaming.... Needless to say, we didn't sleep well that night! Ask the farmer about it.
On the other side of the moor we saw a tan coloured big cat legging it through the gorse bushes. I did have a blurred picture of its back end and tail.
Me and my dad have both seen black ones in the western New Forest and my uncle saw a tan one in Wareham Forest.
About 23yrs ago i lived in a rural village called Harefield near Ruislip just within the M25 . I used to walk my dog at midnight quite often. One night he was very spooked and we saw a big black cat lope across the road to the church about 50ft away. Needless to say we went home pretty damned quick... next morning i found black fur on a barbed wire fence where the cat had gone so i know it was real!😂😂 There were many odd things happen there in the fields and woods, usually for a week or two every 6 months or so. One night we found obvious big cat paw prints in the snow leading across a field to a fenced off wooded and overgrown WW1 bomb crater (yes, really...) but they never came out. Brisk walk home again that night!
So yeah, theyre out there and if you spend enough stealthy time outdoors with open eyes youll find evidence or even see them.
Good luck!
Very interesting! Thanks for your stories! I👍
I find all this big cat stuff very interesting... I've seen a few vids and I've got to say - yours are probably the most engaging - most are just talking to camera whereas you are actually out there! Great work 👏
Thanks for that .. we try hard to keep each one fresh and interesting... Part 4 is already underway 👍
In 70s two people had a pair of pumas in Duloe nr St Keyne they let them out one nite
The cat shown at the beginning isn't a puma it's a lynx. Pumas wouldn't have a bone yard as they are constantly on the move, they don't stay in one area, and their home range of a large male can be from 150 sqkm to 1500, lowest range being 25sq but that is unlikely. They don't stay put.
Thanks... It's a real shame that some deer kicked mud all over the lens! There were a load running about an hour before the cat appeared... With these vids, it always seems like we're a couple of weeks behind it... But we're currently working on a hot tip of just a few days... Watch this space!
If the deer can hide all day, then so can the big cats.
they cant...thats why deer get hunted
Leopards of course can also hide up trees. Think about their behaviour in Africa.... a tree provides safety from 🦁 but also is a great viewing platform. Not much can outclimb a leopard!
Iv tracked deer and muntjac for 30 yrs...iv only come across 2 areas of big cats and seen 1 hunting sika deer...I'm in sussex...I'm out 5 days a week tracking so I'm about about and in all that time seen 1..even tho a few have been openly released yrs bk
I was out over boulters tor & twist farm yesterday. Looked like a good feeding ground from what I saw around the common. Might want to check that out
It's been years since I visited Twyst! Has it fallen down yet? I made a video years ago using my drone... The only time I ever crashed was on that farm!
Haha. You’re braver than I am with those drones. Yes is still very much standing. There were 2 horse carcasses. Fresh and looking very much like what you find. Rib cage popped completely stripped
Well folks that's 4.26 minutes of my life I'll never get back😆
I take it that you greatly enjoyed it! 🤔
Good stuff mate ,I saw one ,broad daylight ,but Black ,a while ago
Its crazy, when making these videos, we come across so many people including alot of farmers who will happily tell you their experiences but will never go on camera!
Sent yer a Facebook friends request mate
Looks pretty interesting, especially that scat... As you know, I'm a bit of a sceptic, but I hope you get something conclusive and make me eat my words! Good luck!
We took samples of the scat, but it looks like it's got to be super fresh to get anything from it!
How did the cat come to the UK?
In one of the other videos, it talks about that - Plymouth used to have a zoo and 2 cats went missing. Also, laws came in preventing people from owning big cats so lots were released!
Yes, it probably escaped from a circus or a zoo. It is a pity holding such animals in cages so that humans can see them. It certainly wouldn't attack humans.
Keep it up!
Keep it up Steve, you'll find ee dreckly
fox would have fur / hair in scat.....
Absolutely... It was massive though!
So it's finally been proven there is big cats about but they are watching you while you search for them.they are top aphex predators in their own world here with nothing to compete with they could potentially be right at home here there's plenty of game for them and decent range of habitat.keep your eyes peeled and get yourself a bigger dog or two.😸😹
There's definitely something lurking about! I have a feeling that alot of the sightings that people told us about was the escaped cat from the zoo - it had been on the loose for 3 months! I think I'll do a night time hunt - see what we get!
But it would make it more believable if you got the right cat at the beginning that is a links not a puma
That was filmed a while back... Initially my instinct was that it was a feral Dom but it has created some interesting debate!
@@explorationsouthwest8851 You want your eyesight checking if you think that looks anything like a feral domestic cat.. That's as bad a mistaking a donkey for a horse.. Most big cats were deliberately released into the wild in the mid 70's when the dangerous wild animal act was introduced to avoid prosecution.. Given most will not live past 15 years they will all be dead by now and there was never enough of them to establish a breeding population.. Today our countryside is littered with many thousands of committed wildlife photographers.. They explore every inch of the British Isles.. If there were any big cats at all they would have been found long ago..
@@Forestfalcon1You are badly informed. They breed successfully and have often been seen with cubs. Both Black Leopard and Puma/ Mountain Lion.
They are still seen today all across the UK and Ireland. France, Spain too, and Australia and New Zealand.
This