'Panther' sighted by M40 (From Bucks Free Press)
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'Panther' sighted by M40
7:00am Sunday 16th December 2012 in News By James Nadal
File picture: Is a panther or big cat living in the wild in Bucks?
A CREATURE resembling a black panther has been spotted by the M40 near Stokenchurch.
The sighting has been reported by electrician Chris Newton, who told the Bucks Free Press he has now spotted a big cat there for the second time in a year.
The 48 year-old is convinced the animal he saw is a black panther.
He only told his wife about the first sighting, which occurred last year.
But his mind was made up to go public after his second astonishing encounter in November and having also discovered other people had witnessed similar creatures in the area.
Mr Newton, from Bournemouth, regularly drives through the Bucks stretch of the M40.
He said: “About a year or so ago at about 1am I spotted what I thought was a black bin bag on the hard shoulder, as I got closer it moved.
“As it moved I only caught a glimpse in the side mirror, but what I saw put a shiver through my spine.
“It was a very large black cat. I could see it also had a thick long tail.
“I knew straight away that I had just seen a black panther. There is no way that this was a large domestic cat.”
He said: “Then about two weeks ago, at around the same time in the morning, I was on the same stretch of road.
“As I drove past junction 5 for Stokenchurch, I again spotted a large black cat this time I could see it side on. And again I am in no doubt at all that this was a black panther. It was half way across the junction, looking at me as if I had startled it and it stood still.”
He decided to research big cats and discovered via the BFP website that there have been other sightings through the years of such creatures.
There was a notorious case in the Stokenchurch area in 1983 which made the headlines as armed police became involved in a search.
Earlier this year Beast of Bucks expert Paul Nicolaides said he is convinced there are a number of puma or leopard like creatures living in Bucks and surrounding areas.
Mr Nicolaides, who has been following sightings of big cats in Buckinghamshire for years, has stealth cameras positioned in different parts of the county, including Stokenchurch and Bledlow Ridge.
Conclusive evidence of a big cat living in the wild in Buckinghamshire has been elusive for those who have tried to find it but there have been numerous eye witness reports, Mr Newton's being the latest.
Comments(40)
Marmite XO
says...
10:54am Sun 16 Dec 12
BOOKERite
says...
2:04pm Sun 16 Dec 12
I think that Chris Newton honestly thinks that he saw a black panther, but I think it could possibly be an oversize moggy!
piran
says...
3:33pm Sun 16 Dec 12
Steveo68
says...
4:04pm Sun 16 Dec 12
Was with a group,we got ahead of them,whilst riding down a quiet country road,a large cat bigger than a Labrador,bounded across the road,then up into the hedgerow,the other side of the road.
I'm positive they are out there,plenty of food like pheasants and rabbits to prey on.
sidthesexist
says...
4:29pm Sun 16 Dec 12
mumof2
says...
4:43pm Sun 16 Dec 12
J B Blackett
says...
5:44pm Sun 16 Dec 12
Marmite XO wrote:I hope so too.
Let's hope he wasn't drunk as he was driving a car.
.
There's nothing more dangerous than a drunken black panther driving a car all over the place.
.
HASAN786
says...
7:44pm Sun 16 Dec 12
Plus there are so many sightings not every is gonna be drunk or something .
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
8:20pm Sun 16 Dec 12
Steveo68 wrote:Then why are there never any roadkill beasts of Bucks?
Was riding by mountain bike,about two years ago,near Ibstone.
Was with a group,we got ahead of them,whilst riding down a quiet country road,a large cat bigger than a Labrador,bounded across the road,then up into the hedgerow,the other side of the road.
I'm positive they are out there,plenty of food like pheasants and rabbits to prey on.
J B Blackett
says...
9:34pm Sun 16 Dec 12
.
Similarly with crows , blackbirds , Newfoundland dogs , Tasmanian Devils , gorillas , water buffaloes , black swans , black bears etc , even King penguins (on their stomachs) . All reported in this area but never any hard evidence provided.
.
All these animals will provide similarly characteristic road kill all around the Chilterns but are very difficult to spot when they are flattened against the road surfaces.
.
There is always a logical reason for these things.
piran
says...
11:43pm Sun 16 Dec 12
stevet123
says...
1:29am Mon 17 Dec 12
Wycid
says...
7:51am Mon 17 Dec 12
J B Blackett
says...
2:16pm Mon 17 Dec 12
.
A similar distortion happens to some anglers too.
stokie
says...
5:04pm Mon 17 Dec 12
Panthera leo - Lion
Panthera tigris - Tiger
it would have been a Leopard or a Jaguar - if it exists at all.
J B Blackett
says...
5:59pm Mon 17 Dec 12
.
A cheater perhaps ? There's lots of those around. Especially in politics , banking and English football
stevet123
says...
6:15pm Mon 17 Dec 12
J B Blackett wrote:Could have been david cameron dressed in black on his way to Witney oxford for meeting with his electors
Perhaps it's some animal pretending to be a panther.
.
A cheater perhaps ? There's lots of those around. Especially in politics , banking and English football
outofthebox
says...
7:46pm Mon 17 Dec 12
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
9:34pm Mon 17 Dec 12
J B Blackett wrote:Oh yeah!
They are black - so are difficult to pick out on dark British road surfaces ; particularly when squashed.
.
Similarly with crows , blackbirds , Newfoundland dogs , Tasmanian Devils , gorillas , water buffaloes , black swans , black bears etc , even King penguins (on their stomachs) . All reported in this area but never any hard evidence provided.
.
All these animals will provide similarly characteristic road kill all around the Chilterns but are very difficult to spot when they are flattened against the road surfaces.
.
There is always a logical reason for these things.
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
9:35pm Mon 17 Dec 12
Lawrence shakes his head and sighs.
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
9:37pm Mon 17 Dec 12
Not 'elusive' - non-existent.
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
9:38pm Mon 17 Dec 12
HASAN786 wrote:Why not?
i believe him never sighted one my self but have spoken to someone who spotted one in Stokenchurch .
Plus there are so many sightings not every is gonna be drunk or something .
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
9:39pm Mon 17 Dec 12
sidthesexist wrote:Obviously.
People have been talking of a big black cat around the Stokenchurch area for over 25 years that i know of. At the time the rumor going round was that it had been imported by one of the getty's and escaped. Obviously this was never proven..
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
9:47pm Mon 17 Dec 12
stevet123 wrote:I have seen this too and a number of my neighbours over the years although we actually live in a part of Buckinghamshire some distance away from the Thames Valley and from which Loch Ness is not visible.
funny last year august summers evening i saw loch ness sister swiming towards henley from marlow
I think if we mention Nessie's sister every time the Beast of Bucks (the feline one not ivor) appears on the pages of this journal then researchers should soon be able to discover '... via the BFP website that there have been other sightings through the years of such creatures'.
BTW in future I would like to be referred to as 'Loch Ness Monster of Bucks Expert Lawrence' and not just Lawrence.
piran
says...
9:47pm Mon 17 Dec 12
ImpeturbableLawrence wrote:OK I admit it. I am the Getty Black Panther and the clever Bucks Free Press has unmasked me. I often drink in the Kings but love the old sandwiches thrown out on the M40.
sidthesexist wrote:Obviously.
People have been talking of a big black cat around the Stokenchurch area for over 25 years that i know of. At the time the rumor going round was that it had been imported by one of the getty's and escaped. Obviously this was never proven..
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
9:55pm Mon 17 Dec 12
I have put a stealth camera in my garden and on more than one occasion I have seen a gigantic amphibian in next door's garden.
Although some people claim it is 'Hubert' - next door's Weimaraner I remain convinced there IS a gigantic amphibian that roams around Wooburn Green after dark while I am in bed and that these sightings cannot be the result merely of et cetera.
Yours sincerely
Lawrence
Loch Ness Monster of Bucks Expert.
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
10:05pm Mon 17 Dec 12
piran wrote:Ha! The indefatigable investigative journalists of the Bucks Free Press have laid bare the facts once again!
ImpeturbableLawrence wrote:OK I admit it. I am the Getty Black Panther and the clever Bucks Free Press has unmasked me. I often drink in the Kings but love the old sandwiches thrown out on the M40.
sidthesexist wrote:Obviously.
People have been talking of a big black cat around the Stokenchurch area for over 25 years that i know of. At the time the rumor going round was that it had been imported by one of the getty's and escaped. Obviously this was never proven..
This reminds me of a film I saw at Aylesbury in 1976 entitled "All The Presidents Men" ... or was it 'The Front Page'? Either way it was about hard-bitten newsmen who never lost sight of the facts in their crusade to enlighten their readers and that is why I say to the reporters of the BFP that you follow a great tradition and:
Congratulations from
Loch Ness Monster of Bucks Expert
Lawrence'
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
10:21pm Mon 17 Dec 12
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
10:25pm Mon 17 Dec 12
http://www.imdb.com/
title/tt0021890/full
credits#cast
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
10:27pm Mon 17 Dec 12
Loch Ness Monster of Bucks Expert
Lawrence'
This was an oversight - I still am an expert on the subject.)
Me, just me
says...
10:05am Tue 18 Dec 12
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
11:01am Tue 18 Dec 12
kerlmann
says...
12:29pm Tue 18 Dec 12
Wild wallabies in Derbyshire (escaped from a lorry) and Muntjac deer throughout Southern England (escaped from Woburn Abbey) are two good examples of how animals can adapt to survive in non-native habitats. There could well be one or more large cats on the prowl in the Chilterns, although it's perhaps surprising that farmers haven't discovered more damage to livestock if they are out there.
kerlmann
says...
12:29pm Tue 18 Dec 12
Wild wallabies in Derbyshire (escaped from a lorry) and Muntjac deer throughout Southern England (escaped from Woburn Abbey) are two good examples of how animals can adapt to survive in non-native habitats. There could well be one or more large cats on the prowl in the Chilterns, although it's perhaps surprising that farmers haven't discovered more damage to livestock if they are out there.
stokie
says...
12:53pm Tue 18 Dec 12
shandee
says...
1:45pm Tue 18 Dec 12
J B Blackett
says...
3:13pm Tue 18 Dec 12
ImpeturbableLawrence wrote:If you were hit on the head with one (especially a big orange one) , you would certainly know about it and be off your face.
Excuse my ignorance but what is/are skittles?
.
Probably for weeks.
J B Blackett
says...
4:10pm Tue 18 Dec 12
ImpeturbableLawrence wrote:For those sceptics around here , there was definitely a 'Loch Ness' type serpent to be seen about 12 years ago just east of West Wycombe village.
stevet123 wrote:I have seen this too and a number of my neighbours over the years although we actually live in a part of Buckinghamshire some distance away from the Thames Valley and from which Loch Ness is not visible.
funny last year august summers evening i saw loch ness sister swiming towards henley from marlow
I think if we mention Nessie's sister every time the Beast of Bucks (the feline one not ivor) appears on the pages of this journal then researchers should soon be able to discover '... via the BFP website that there have been other sightings through the years of such creatures'.
BTW in future I would like to be referred to as 'Loch Ness Monster of Bucks Expert Lawrence' and not just Lawrence.
.
It was quite visible swimming about in the flooded bottom field directly below the Dashwood Mausoleum opposite the orangey-painted lodge estate house near The Pedestal where and when the Saunderton swollen stream on its way to join the Wye/Thames actually stopped the A40 traffic after very heavy rainstorms
.
It was there several days and hundreds of people saw it , but it disappeared just as mysteriously as it appeared and has sadly never returned.
.
Nature is strange and sometimes reacts in unexpected ways. We need more magical serpents and mystical monsters in this material world of ours ,
.
What we don't want or need are all those venomous dangerous reptiles lurking about in the corridors of Parliament. They are not even edible and are no use to anybody for anything whatsoever.
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
4:32pm Tue 18 Dec 12
kerlmann wrote:I once butchered and put in the freezer a dead Muntjac and all the badgers I have definitely seen so far have been dead ones and quite a few dead cats but I have never yet seen a roadkill big cat.
To all the sceptics and naysayers out there - I've no specific evidence one way or the other on this, but the notion that a large cat may have escaped and is surviving in the wild is not that far-fetched.
Wild wallabies in Derbyshire (escaped from a lorry) and Muntjac deer throughout Southern England (escaped from Woburn Abbey) are two good examples of how animals can adapt to survive in non-native habitats. There could well be one or more large cats on the prowl in the Chilterns, although it's perhaps surprising that farmers haven't discovered more damage to livestock if they are out there.
banknote says...
10:33am Sun 16 Dec 12