Unidentifiable creature spotted feeding on dead sheep in Peak District

A camper has claimed to have captured footage of a “big cat” feeding on a “dead sheep” in the Peak District.

Josh Williams, 17, captured video of an unidentified animal in a field near Jacob’s Ladder on Monday, 26 September.

The teenager said he was “convinced” the creature was a big cat and looked like a panther. It has not been confirmed what kind of animal it was.

“[thought] It was feeding on something like a dead animal – most likely a sheep,” Williams said.

About The Independent:
Making Change Happen. The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking newsbrand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded.

Connect with The Independent:

[TheGlassman]

Could the Independent please put more words over the video as I almost got a good look at it

[progressivebusiness]

It’s very clear when you project this video on a smart tv that it a cow or sheep licking or scratching its left foreleg. You can see the horns!

[BarmyDeer]

There are no panthers in Peak District. There are badgers, but that's way too big. It's a *black bull* . He's not eating the sheep. He's licking them.

[gazabaza]

Im sure they would of filmed for longer to get some actual worth while footage if it actually was a big cat, not film for 2 seconds then end it 😅 I call bull 💩

[jameshughes]

"Farmers Missing Cow Found in Field Cleaning Itself"

New headline lol

[hmxbox]

Interesting they didn’t stay for long enough to get a video which was clearer and showed what is really was 😂

[THECELTICIBERIAN]

It's a bull, the shoulders are to wide for a panther, plus more likely scare tactics to stop people from wild camping in the lake District.

[GaryJRobinson]

The existance of big cats running wild in the UK has been known for decades and is thought to go back to a law in the 70s that forced the owners of exotic pets to get rid of them. It's assumed that allot of people simply let them loose. Farmers filming and photographing them on a regular basis is not uncommon. Check out Paul Sinclair and the Thruth Proof channel on YouTube. They have documented allot of cases, many of which are backed up by video.

[margaretthatcher]

Should have filmed longer....nothing burger.

[jostrange-webb]

It's a cow sat down licking its hind leg ffs

[harryrambler]

It's a black cow with a white rear cleaning its backside FFS!

[jamiemoore]

definitely a bull licking itself. I have seen 2 eaten sheep carcasses just outside of great hucklow this summer, it does make you think surely that can't be a fox!? in the mid 90s I was certain I saw a big black cat in a field behind stoney Middleton graveyard whilst walking with my nan, she didn't see it or believe me but I know what I saw!

[progressivebusiness]

It’s this kind of purposefully deceptive reporting that makes it even more difficult for people to believe the big cat phenomenon. It’s very clearly a bullock.

[jakeoliver]

Its a bull. Can't explain well what position it's in... but I think it's just licking the sheep

[fonejacker]

It's a black sheep, cleaning It's rear end, you can clearly see its leg outstretched for support, moreover the sheep in the field would not be so calm if this were a big cat, however I do believe they are here and living in our countryside

[Newlithics]

That is literally a sheep scratching it's self 🤣

[alexpage]

I don’t think that that’s a big cat. Probably a set up.

[COL-]

I've always been open to the idea of big cats roaming the wilds of Britain after my friend and I may have seen a black panther cross the road Infront of us late at night on the A127 in Essex in 1999, I'm not saying we definitely did, but that was what we both concluded after we had both said "What the f**k is that!" at the exact same time.
However, in this video it looks to me like a single cow licking itself, I believe the part to the left that kind of looks like a tail is one of it's front legs, it's licking it's back in the way a domestic cat does. If it was really anything more surely the video would be longer.

[ChloeV-cd]

it's the ram, put it to .25 speed between 12 and 13 you see the horn clearly stand proud of the head on both sides of the

[ChloeV-cd]

Feeding on a dead sheep? if anyone's owned a dog that's the head down the crotch licking