UK Lions...But Not From Essex

"Very few people with an interest in Cryptozoology – the study of unknown animals, but which can also include out of place animals of the exotic kind, too – will have missed the controversy and near-hysteria that accompanied the recent reports of nothing less than a lion on the loose in Essex, England. Of course, the “lion” turned out to be nothing of the sort: almost certainly it was just a large and friendly pet cat of someone living locally. But, this is not the only occasion upon which a lion has reportedly been seen roaming the UK…"

That's how my latest post for Mysterious Universe starts (although, for some odd reason, the two opening words "Very few" are missing!), and which delves into claims of lions roaming the UK that have nothing to do with the story coming out of Essex...

Not The Essex Lion!

Photographed in the back-garden on Saturday night. Yep, a bit dark, I know. No, it's not the Lion of Essex, England! And no I did not demand that armed police come and deal with it. Is it a normal house-cat? Well, it was certainly much bigger and bulkier, even though it looks just like one. And check out that tail: like a striped baseball bat, it got wider and fatter the longer it got. Nothing to get excited about, but I thought - given its size - it was cool to see right outside the back-door...

That "Essex Lion" Farce...

Neil Arnold (right, in the photo above) takes a deep look at the "Essex Lion" story and provides us with what is probably the only voice of sanity in this sorry saga!

Neil begins:

"Okay, so the rumours circulated that there was a lion on the loose near Clacton in Essex. How many more stories like this are going to be followed up by droves of police officers and reported on my drama hungry papers ? It's a sorry state of affairs, and it's hysteria that makes a mockery of my research because when investigators, as usual, find no evidence of the lion king, everyone starts laughing and saying that there are no large cats roaming Britain."

And here's the link to Neil's complete post.