Cat of the Baskervilles on prowl in London......?

Are there really "big cats" roaming around London, lying deep in the shadows waiting to pounce upon an inquisitive domestic pet, or worse..... a human? Does the UK have a real Sherlock Holmes story afterall? Is Scotland Yard searching for "The Cat of the Baskervilles?" It sounds more like pulp fiction than reality right? Then what did attack Anthony-John Holder earlier this week in London?

Anthony-John Holder stepped outside of his residence one evening looking for his pet cat when he discovered that a large black animal had pinned it to the ground. Suddenly, the black beast lept for Holder, knocking him down, growling, and bearing its large white teeth. Holder escaped with his life, and the undeniable proof that a large animal did in fact attack him. He, and several other witnesses also claiming to have seen the Labrador-sized animal, are certain it was a big cat. Impossible, right?

Not according to the British Big Cats Society which has been studying this case, and countless other instances for the last five years. They believe the story is so real, that they have issued an official statement in effort to calm the nervous public. The BBCS has asked for a government study following an average of 4 sightings per day throughout Scotland, Kent, Yorkshire, Wales, Devon, Cornwall, Lancashire, Ireland, Lincolnshire and Somerset. Stories like these have frequently appeared on one of my favorite UK sites, The Fortean Times, for years alongside other sightings in other unlikely locations such as Hawaii.

There is enough proof (film, photographs, footprints, fur samples, police reports) to verify that big cats are out and about far from their natural surroundings. Some people feel that these are native species either long forgotten or never discovered (much like Bigfoot, Nessie, or any other Cryptid). I would find that easier to fathom in remote areas of the world like the Himalayan Mountains or the dwindling number of uncharted areas within the Amazon Rainforest. In the case of London, Hawaii, or any other major populated and industrialised area, this sounds more like an escaped or released exotic pet.

Now don't get me wrong, I believe there is a place for cryptozoology as a real science, especially in such cases as the Thylacine. We've only begun to explore the ocean, and everyday we find new species of creatures we'd never dreamed of within its depths. Afterall, we were wrong about the Coelacanth.

I think in the end however, The Cat of the Baskervilles, while real enough, is little more than an escaped exotic cat. Or is it........?

Paul.............