Beast of bodmin

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Elite Baiter Joined: 02 Jul 2006 Posts: 1702

During the "swinging 60's" quite a lot of people had Black leopards it was fashionable back then, so much so that heres an interesting thing:

Black leopards are on the official list of animals in the wild in the ... UK

They can have upto 4 cubs a year, unlike other leopards black leopards only have black offspring, and are solitary animals.

They are extremely elusive, and because of there colour, in bushes etc tend to be invisible, until some poor sod walks past and gets mistaken for a snack.

And that too has occured, there is NO MYSTERY Sad

there really are black leopards out there whose great grandfather was a 60's pet.

Other creatures you wouldnt expect to find in the UK but are wild

Scorpions - although the uk ones are WHITE and unlikely to kill you, mostly found in walls near the docks.

Tarantula's UK is home to 3 breeds that can survive in our climate.

Horse Eels, The lockness monster is most likely one of these, they do exist, and live in and around the waterways of scotland and ireland, I guess someone who had never seen one could assume it was a dinosaur due to its fins on its back - it does explain the story when a monster in lockness was said to exit the water and eat a sheep - well a fully grown horse eel can leave the water and would probably be big enough to eat a very small lamb - and from a distance i guess that would explain what someone reported they saw - also why its never been found in the lock - eels were - but they were looking for something much much bigger - see

And there goes some of me favourite mysteries - solved.

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:02 pm

Very interesting.

I don't know what prompted you to post this short essay on UK wildlife, nor the source of your information.
I'd just like to add a bit of my own.

These are pictures of the 'white' scorpion (Euscorpius flavicaudis) that can be found in England.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

I can't remeber the name of the station, but somewhere in Kent, there is a train station that has loads of scorpions along the platform.

419Eater is my life Joined: 18 May 2007 Posts: 428

I think I'll stay away from the UK for now...

Though what with our killer deer, I'm not sure it'd be much safer here in Ohio...

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:34 pm

I've been to Ohio many times... theres nuthin safe there... exspesaly the water... gotta love a river that burns.. (cayahoga)

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

I believe in the Loch Ness Monster and its 100% risky free.

I've heard there's a variety of one eyed trouser snakes in the UK as well

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:19 pm

At the risk of being ridiculed, I've actually seen one of those black panther/leopard things. Very like a cat but much, much bigger. I was driving down a country lane, in daylight, totally sober, no more than 20 feet away from it - it disappeared into the undergrowth pretty quickly though.

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:24 pm

Nanny Ogg wrote:

I've heard there's a variety of one eyed trouser snakes in the UK as well

Yes, but the really large ones all originated in Ireland. There are no snakes left in Ireland....

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:27 pm

@BJB - Now there's a headline.

"Rabbit Chases Panther" Very Happy

(Careful, Duck . . !)

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:39 pm

benjaminbunny wrote:

At the risk of being ridiculed, I've actually seen one of those black panther/leopard things.

I wouldn't doubt it for a moment.
There have been allsorts of wild cats caught in the UK.
Servals, Ocelots, Caracals, Cougars etc

Leopards can be incredibly elusive creatures if they choose to be.
I know a wildlife film maker that was making a film about a mother and her two young cubs.

One day the little male cub disappeared, and after a few days, the crew sadly came to the conclusion that he must have died.
He was too young to fend without his mother, and would have been a quick snack for a Lion or Hyaena.

They continued filming the Leopards every day for another 6 weeks. Just a few days before they were due to finish the film, the male cub reappeared.

He must have been no more than a few feet away from his mother for the past 6 weeks, yet even so, experienced wildlife watchers had absolutely no clue that he was still alive.

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:46 pm

digital-one wrote:

Black leopards are on the official list of animals in the wild in the ... UK

Wasn't Black Leopards the name of a music group? Laughing

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 6:40 pm

@Chibuike I think that was def leopard.
@ Mike no that was scotland

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 6:55 pm

Dear Mariam Abacha

I have a trunk box full of leopards that I need your assistance with in returning to Africa......

Elite Baiter Joined: 02 Jul 2006 Posts: 1702

@ B&B just wanted to discuss whats on our own doorsteps for a while, the news is full of chaos so chose something a little more exciting, i like them scorpion pics Smile

The sources are wiki - natural history museum, discovery channel online, and a book i read in ireland years ago - scorpions in matchboxes by brendan behan i think but cant remember for sure.

I dont know why the news always makes it out to be a mystery, because according to the natural history museum there are around 50 - 60 wild cats in the uk & home counties - normally they catch them and put them somewhere more appropriate than some forest etc, there just so cunning its hard to find and catch them. Also when people report them there usually ridiculed, but if in the 60's people had looked after them not thrown them out when they tried to eat guests there would be none lol.

Yup i forgot snakes too, epping forest has adders - they wont kill you they will make you very sick tho - and by law you cannot harm them, yorkshire and further north has them too, you can see them on rocks in the summer, in winter be careful, your warm they wont be coming to attack you they will want to get warm to survive - just be cool and no sudden movements and the snake should not bite you. but it will get warm around you so you will need to be very still and hope someone else can gently persuade it to go elsewhere, normally pour a flash of very hot water over another rock and the snake will favour that rock and you can then tell everyone you escaped certain death lol - even though the most an adder will do to the average adult is make you sick, vomit, feverish, dis-orientated, and rather ill for a while. You should seek medical assistance asap, but its not likely to kill you.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3123

[randomtrivia=]A team on Scrapheap challenge were called that(Beasts of Bodmin)[/randomtrivia]

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:28 pm

I was surprised to learn that England has poisonous snakes.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

Scotland has adders too!

Afew years ago on a hot sunny July day we were at Culloden moor, saw a wee lizard basking in the sun.

We also have a fair few amphibians.
Theres a huge park in the centre of Edinburgh with a rather large hill in it.
The top road is closed every year to let the toads migrate.
( Queen's Park and the hill is Arthurs Seat, several lochs there as well. Worth a visit if you're in Scotlands capital )

Its one of the few places you'll see roads signs "swans on the road" and "toad crossing"

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:50 pm

^^^ I was in Glen Coe a few weeks ago and saw a sign saying "Otters".
One of the most beautiful places in the world!

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 1:05 am

WhiteKing419 wrote:

I was surprised to learn that England has poisonous snakes.

The UK has only one poisonous snake; the adder.

UK Forestry Commission wrote:

The adder is the only poisonous snake native to Britain. Adders have the most highly developed poison injecting mechanism of all snakes, but they are not aggressive animals. Adders will only use their poison as a last means of defence, usually if caught or trodden on. No one has died from adder bite in Britain for over 20 years. With proper treatment, the worst effects are nausea and drowsiness, followed by severe swelling and bruising in the area of the bite. Most people who are bitten were handling the snake. Treat adders with respect and leave them alone.

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 1:14 am

The farm I used to work on in Hampshire had it's sheep attacked by a big cat. We took a cast of its paw print left near one of the corpses, and found out that it was a Lynx!

My dad also believes he saw the "beast of bodmin" (or at least one of them) watching him from the bushes while he was fishing many years ago, when we went on holiday to that part of the country.

Elite Baiter Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 1043

My girlfriends neighbours dog was ripped in half by a big cat.

She also lives in Hampshire.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

I've heard anecdotal tales off people living near the local burn having their fish ponds raided by otters.
I'd have suspected the herons myself.

Scotsman