{"id":1280,"date":"2021-01-22T16:55:25","date_gmt":"2021-01-22T16:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/?p=1280"},"modified":"2021-01-22T17:27:13","modified_gmt":"2021-01-22T17:27:13","slug":"uk-big-cat-sightings-on-the-rise-during-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/2021\/01\/22\/uk-big-cat-sightings-on-the-rise-during-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"UK big cat sightings on the rise during lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/f30707435522ccaa755065623c84be33.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/f30707435522ccaa755065623c84be33.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/f30707435522ccaa755065623c84be33-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/f30707435522ccaa755065623c84be33-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/f30707435522ccaa755065623c84be33-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/f30707435522ccaa755065623c84be33-800x534.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>A big leopard, rumoured to be roaming our countrysides (CC Pinterest)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The legend of British big cats has returned with a vigour since the UK entered a third national lockdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People have been exploring the British countryside in the masses to escape and exercise, and subsequently since then, big cat sightings have been on the rise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From North Wales to Kent, sightings have not been in short supply. In Strood last week there were reports of an animal resembling a black leopard roaming fields. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I spoke to big cat expert Frank Tunbridge and Zoologist Dr Izzy Winder to try and separate fact from fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Big-Cat-Story.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption>Interview with Frank Tunbridge and Dr Izzy Winder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Big cat sightings have been prevalent in the UK since the 1970&#8217;s, with tales such as &#8216;The Beast of Bodmin&#8221; a phantom big cat that apparently slew many Cornish livestock, but was never caught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the introduction of the internet, the mystery and interest in them has only increased. Frank later said he &#8220;actually blames the internet for discrediting many solid theories and evidence&#8221; and that blurry photo&#8217;s and rumours do not help his cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The authorities and the police are aware of big cats in this country, and breeding, but they don&#8217;t want the panic situation they&#8217;ve got enough on their hands.&#8221; <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/1_Big-cat-tracker-Frank-Tunbridge-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1305\" srcset=\"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/1_Big-cat-tracker-Frank-Tunbridge-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/1_Big-cat-tracker-Frank-Tunbridge-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/1_Big-cat-tracker-Frank-Tunbridge-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/1_Big-cat-tracker-Frank-Tunbridge-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/1_Big-cat-tracker-Frank-Tunbridge-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/1_Big-cat-tracker-Frank-Tunbridge-800x800.jpg 800w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/1_Big-cat-tracker-Frank-Tunbridge-70x70.jpg 70w, https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/1_Big-cat-tracker-Frank-Tunbridge.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Frank Tunbridge (CC Gloucestershire Live)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite big cat enthusiasts claims of proof, nothing substantial such as a corpse or photograph has ever been recovered, and scientists often reject the claims altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zoologist Dr Izzy Winder said: &#8220;There&#8217;s not yet evidence that convinces me, but I can see the attraction of the idea.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until concrete proof comes to life your daily walk should be relatively relaxed, but who knows, maybe keep checking over your shoulder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The legend of British big cats has returned with a vigour since the UK entered a third national lockdown. People have been exploring the British countryside in the masses to escape and exercise, and subsequently since then, big cat sightings&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":1293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[]},"categories":[14,29,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1280"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1306,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280\/revisions\/1306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}