10 places in Buckinghamshire you will find a big cat

It comes after the ‘clearest ever’ photo of a big cat made the headlines yesterday (August 15) showing a panther-looking cat prowling the British countryside.

This makes it more believable that panthers exist in the UK.

READ MORE: UK panther-like big cat evidence uncovered for documentary

A number of sightings of big cats have been made in and around Buckinghamshire in the last few years, with the most recent report coming from Wendover Woods, Aylesbury.

Buckinghamshire even has a self-proclaimed big cat expert, who has tracked the alleged beast of Bucks for a number of years.

Paolo Nicolaides, a landscaper designing eco spaces and gardens has been obsessed with big cats in the area since he first went to the spot of an alleged sighting 20 years ago in Saunderton.

He has unveiled the top 10 locations in Buckinghamshire where it is likely you would find a wild cat lurking the woods.

Paulo, who runs The Big Cats of the Chilterns Facebook group, said: “I know they exist, there are just too many sightings and clues like scats [droppings]. Some people might call me bonkers, but I don’t care. We are all bonkers! I believe there are big cats out there."

Big Cats of the Chilterns has been recording local sightings for twenty years including some very recent reports in 2022.  The sightings data reveals clusters of activity in certain areas within the Chiltern Hills.

However sightings are not the only evidence for big cats in Britain. Pug marks, scat, animal kills and tooth pit analysis from deer carcasses have all indicated these species are present.

According to Paulo, the Chilterns alone brings in an average of 35 credible reports a year and the proportion of these sightings consistently seems to align with a percentage rule, 60% large Black leopard types 30% sandy-coloured puma and 10% Lynx.

10 locations you will find a big cat in Buckinghamshire 

How did big cats end up Buckinghamshire?
 

Paolo’s theory links bag to the Victorian and colonial era, and when leopards, pumas and lynx were brought from abroad back to England as status symbol pets.

“I believe some of these really rich lords living around Buckinghamshire had them as pets, and they wanted to see how they would survive here, so they released them.

“All I’m trying to do is to show people they are real. I just want people to know that these sightings are happenning everywhere," he added. 

He said if his enthusiasm encourages young people to leave their phones for a moment and go out to do their own research on big cats, he is happy.