A giant puma-like cat was feared to be on the loose in one of London's leafiest suburbs on Tuesday after a man said he had been pounced on by a creature, which then stood hissing on his chest.
Anthony-John Holder, who escaped with scratches and bruising after the incident in his garden in Sydenham Park, a suburb in the southeast of London, said he feared the animal could kill someone.
Holder, 37, had ventured to the bottom of his garden late on Monday after hearing his own pet cat howling.
"All of a sudden I see this big black thing pouncing at me, knocked me flying. I was just stunned with it all," he told the London-based radio station LBC.
"I just didn't know where I was, and the next thing there was this big black figure laying on my chest," he said. "It was growling, growling at me and hissing and it then started scratching."
Holder said he had used "brute force" to push the animal, described as being roughly the size of a Labrador dog, away from him.
"This thing knew what it wanted. If I was weak ... I think it could have killed me and then it could have gone on to hurt my family and everything else. I do think it would have done damage to someone," he said.
Police, who were called by the terrified Holder, said they were seeking advice from London Zoo and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which deals with stray animals in Britain.
"We are advising the local public if they see the animal, do not approach it and to report it to police using [emergency number] 999 and to keep pets indoors," a spokesman said.
In recent years, sightings of giant cats have been reported throughout Britain, but although livestock have supposedly been attacked a number of times, there have been virtually no instances of encounters with humans.
Initially dismissed by scientists as unlikely, evidence from pawprints and droppings has led many to conclude that a number of big cats, perhaps released into the wild from private zoos, are roaming the country.
The notion of a puma living in London is also not as far-fetched as it might seem.
Despite its size and population, London has far more green spaces than most similar-sized cities, both in hundreds of public parks and squares and through the gardens of terraced homes, which form the bulk of its housing stock.
Around 15,000 foxes are believed to live in the capital, as well as a large number of squirrels and other creatures.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS