A new sighting in Buckinghamshire is reigniting the local legend of the “Beast of Bucks,” with a large, mysterious black cat caught on a homeowner’s doorbell camera.
The chilling footage shows a feline much larger than a domestic cat, prowling in the middle of the night.
Residents are once again buzzing with theories about the presence of a big cat roaming the county.
Suspicion Grows Over Prowling Beast
The sighting took place outside David Lawrence’s home in a village near High Wycombe.
Lawrence, a local homeowner, was quick to point out that the creature didn’t look like a regular house cat.
The animal was captured climbing into a skip, and Lawrence noticed it had unusually large paws, a thick tail, and legs much bigger than those of an average domestic cat.
He described the tail as being longer than the back legs and said its size and structure made it look more like a wild animal than a pet.
“I know a lot of people speculate, but everyone I’ve shown the footage to agrees this isn’t a regular cat,” Lawrence explained. “It’s not just the size—it’s everything about it.
The tail, the legs, even the way it moves—it’s not typical for a domestic cat.”
Legend of the Beast of Bucks
The sighting adds to a growing list of encounters with a large, cat-like creature believed to be the infamous Beast of Bucks.
This mysterious animal, often described as a puma or panther, has been a part of local folklore for decades.
Reports of sightings have been increasing since 2020, with several people claiming to have seen large black cats around the Buckinghamshire area.
The Big Cats of the Chilterns Facebook page has been a platform for investigators to track these reports, including a sighting in 2022 of a “large Labrador-sized cat” near Chesham.
Another report in 2023 described a “dog-sized black cat” descending from a tree, further fueling suspicions about big cats in the area.
In June 2023, a local resident even reported seeing a large puma in their garden late in the evening.
Are These Big Cats Really Out There?
David Lawrence believes the creature he saw might be a juvenile big cat, suggesting that it could be part of a larger population of wild cats living in the UK.
“Wild cats grow big at one point, so it’s hard to say if this is a young one or something else,” Lawrence remarked.
“But it certainly looks bigger than any normal cat I’ve seen.”
This has raised questions among experts about the possibility of big cats roaming the British countryside.
Professor Robin Allaby from Warwick University reported finding DNA evidence of a large cat species, such as a lion or leopard, in the Lake District.
However, some skeptics argue that the evidence supporting these sightings is often weak or even fabricated.
Increasing Belief Among Experts and Authorities
Despite doubts, belief in the presence of big cats continues to grow.
Danny Bamping, head of the British Big Cats Society, is confident that the evidence points to the existence of these creatures in rural Britain.
He claims that even some police forces are now taking these sightings seriously, particularly in areas where big cats have been frequently spotted.
“For years, places like Devon and Cornwall have been treating these sightings seriously,” Bamping stated.
“And when a horse was killed in Lancashire and the vet confirmed it was due to a large cat, that changed the way police viewed the situation there.”
A Bigger Mystery: Escaped Exotic Pets?
Experts suggest that these wild cats could be escaped or released exotic pets, a theory that dates back to the 1970s when the Dangerous Wild Animals Act was introduced.
The law required owners of exotic animals to obtain licenses, but many chose to release their big cats into the wild instead of sending them to a zoo.
This, experts believe, could explain why some of these animals are now roaming the UK countryside.
While the debate over the existence of big cats in the UK continues, the recent sightings and ongoing reports ensure that the mystery of the Beast of Bucks remains a source of fascination for many.