BS: Big cats in Britain

Subject: RE: BS: Big cats in Britain
From: Senoufou
Date: 06 Oct 18 - 01:35 PM

In East Anglia, we have 'Black Shuck', a huge spectral dog which haunts unwary travellers at night, and has done for centuries.

Bungay in Suffolk have incorporated it in their coat-of-arms, and Bungay FC are called the 'Black Dogs'. Their team's badge has a very fierce image of the thing, with bolts of lightning underneath.

I wonder if this Black Shuck has been a collection of pumas all along?
If people in the past caught sight of a large black beast with a long tail, they'd imagine it to be a dog (they were familiar with dogs) rather than a large cat (which they would discount as not native)

Subject: RE: BS: Big cats in Britain
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 06 Oct 18 - 01:59 PM

"phantom dogs" listed here sen with no clear origin. (including shuck who I think I linked to before).

Also unsure of mistaking "dog features" with "cat features" myself except a (never enocountered") hyena can look a bit of both to me.

Subject: RE: BS: Big cats in Britain
From: Senoufou
Date: 06 Oct 18 - 03:01 PM

That's true I suppose Jon. Pumas have very flat faces, whereas a dog has a definite snout.

I wonder if, since wolves lived in Britain up until the mid eighteenth century, people were very frightened of them and if one was spotted, a 'legend' might have developed around it?

The 'big cat' in Hainford was spotted by some people sitting outside the Chequers pub. Maybe they'd had a little too much Old Speckled Hen?

Subject: RE: BS: Big cats in Britain
From: Jos
Date: 06 Oct 18 - 03:27 PM

"Also, all those folklore headless dogs..." [28 Oct 10 - 08:14 AM]

The scary part of a dog is its angry mouthful of teeth, so a headless dog doesn't quite have what it takes.

Subject: RE: BS: Big cats in Britain
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 06 Oct 18 - 06:06 PM

The thing is if it didn't have a head, it wouldn't have an orifice in which to insert the Kennomeat. So there wouldn't be any need to carry round plastic bags for the phantom poo.

I reckon if you could breed such a dog - even on a different psychic dimension - you would sell loads of them.