Big cat fears as man stumbles upon graveyard of mutilated sheep in UK discipline
WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: A student believes they have found evidence of a terrifying big cat lurking in the English countryside when they found a sheep ‘graveyard’
Fears of a big cat unleashed on the English countryside have been sparked after a stunned student found a graveyard of mutilated sheep.
Shocked Harlem Karma stumbled across a grim sight and awful smells when he discovered 10 dead sheep on the outskirts of Kendal, Cumbria. Harlem reckons the discovery is evidence of an infamously rumoured big cat known as the ‘Beast of Cumbria’ and claims to have seen a leopard-sized creature in the same area.
“Last year, I saw what I believe to be a black, melanistic leopard. I was on the bus at the time, as it effortlessly jumped over a dry stone wall, and continued into a wooded tree line,” he said.
“Since then, I have collected several reports from this area of an animal with the same description with sightings dating as far back as 2011. Like many people, I grew up on stories from British folklore like the Loch Ness monster and the Beast of Exmoor.”
Decades of big cat sightings across the county sparked the legend of the beast. Some claimed to have seen creatures including black panthers, leopards, lynxes and caracals.
Harlem added: “So I started doing my own research. I was informed of the field in Kendal and went to look and it was full of mutilated sheep. It was like a graveyard. The sheer number of dead sheep was really weird. The smell of rotting flesh was awful. The distress to the muzzles and neck indicates a big cat kill.
“The sheer vastness of Cumbria and its diverse landscape and wildlife increases chances of there being big cats here. The reports in Cumbria are always of a large black cat. But there’s very little hard evidence when it comes to big cats in Cumbria.”
Harlem, of Lancaster, also told NeedToKnow: “I’m aiming to get some solid evidence of these mysterious creatures without revealing their locations specifically. I’m also hoping to feature a few interviewees in the film too to help strengthen the believability of the phenomena here in Cumbria.”
The beast has even been investigated by comedians Nish Kumar and Josh Widdicombe for their series ‘Hold the Front Page’.
According to The Westmorland Gazette, Nish said the comedy pair were “getting stuck in” and “talking to local people”.
Unable to find the big cat, Josh said: “I think it outlines from a national level to a local level, it is really difficult to get evidence for a really good, strong investigation that stands up factually.”
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