Thought for the day :"I have a book called, "The History Of Glue". I can't put it down!"
Well it was a year ago to the day that I launched the Glamping the Moon concept to invite interest in the glamping site that we were looking at then - the 30 acre site at Carmarthen.
as a result we have a good following though we will not be running it that way, and in fairness I think that it was probably a good decision - it is too late to start thinking of starting another business really - we have our hands full here in Ffynnon Wen...
Susie did some more pond clearing today - I walked to the fields and back - it gives 'Thena a run and gets me out of the house. Susie also got her first package of seeds for the year. She is in her happy place....
Interesting, in the field yesterday I saw the largest feral cat that I have ever seen. I say feral as it is a long way form any houses and the size of it was huge. It was brown with shaggy hair - a distinct cat face and pointed ears - suggesting tufts like a lynx. It was on the other side of the field but when it saw 'Thena it ran for cover - 'Thena followed and at the same distance the cat would have been about 3/4 the size of 'Thena - which would make it a huge cat.
Mentioned to a neighbour who was walking up the lane and he was unaware of any sightings but reminded that there had been a "Beast of Boncath" in the past. This rang some bells because when I was responsible for wildlife as Chief Inspector of Community Affairs..
Tivy advertiser
November 2015
WHEN mother of two Genna George of Cardigan was travelling home on a small country lane, she couldn’t quite believe what she came across. The equestrian enthusiast is convinced she saw the Beast of Boncath – with its long tail and large body running sideways away from the headlamps of her car and into the safety of the hedge.
"I was travelling on the Caemorgan Road at around 6.50pm on Sunday and this pure black animal had its bottom towards me. It was definitely not a cat and it was the size of a Labrador dog. Its legs were plain to see and they were quite thick and its tail was long and curled," said Jenna, whose heart was racing.
She added: "I didn’t see it’s face but it was definitely big. I couldn’t say if it was a panther or a puma, but I know what I saw and I could see it quite clearly in my headlights. If I was walking, I probably would have run in fear!"
Genna then phoned her farmer husband Aled to explain what had just happened.
"He didn’t think I was joking as we both believe in the Beast of Boncath and he even said it must have been the same big cat that took the calf from where he milks. Quite a few friends have seen it too over the years including a family member who came face to face with it while he was out hunting," explained Genna.
She concluded: "I was shocked to see it. You always see cats running across the road when you’re driving but you never think that you will come across the beast."
March 2013 - Wales on Line (original in 2005)
THE debate over whether Wales' forests harbour dangerous big cats could soon be decided once and for all.
The British Big Cats Society (BBCS) is to plant motion-activated 'trigger cameras' in sighting hot spots.
Danny Bamping, the society?s spokesman, confirmed yesterday (thur) that the cameras would be sited in woods near Cwmbran, Carmarthen, Margam and in Monmouthshire.
In 2000, Josh Hopkins, then aged 11, was slashed across the face by what he described as a black leopard as he searched for his lost pet cat.
Gwent police using marksmen equipped with infra-red lights mounted in a helicopter search failed to find the creaturewhich left vivid claw marks on the boy's right cheek.
There have already been several sightings this summer, says the BBCS, and there are even disturbing reports of people armed with rifles going ?trophy hunting? for big cats in Wales, said Mr Bamping.
Wales ranks number four in the UK's 'top 10' area for big cat sightingsreveal latest BBCS statistics. Overall there were 2052 sightings reported to the BBCS throughout Britain last year, at least four a day.
The top 10 in the big cat league table are, Scotland (231) Kent (141) Yorkshire (127) Wales (102) Devon (100) Cornwall (96) Lancashire (86) Ireland (82) Lincolnshire (80) and Somerset (69).
The trigger digital video cameras will be linked to a single website www.bigcats.tv ? producing a stream of live pictures. BBCS has several trigger still cameras but these are only activated when something moves past and breaks an infra red beam.
Mr Bamping said, "This summer we have been overwhelmed with sightings from across the country, probably helped by the fact the weather has been better and more people are out and about. There have been several incidents including a very recent sighting of a puma by two RAF corporals near an Airbase in the Southwest of England. We have had several sightings this year from Wales particularly from those people who venture into forests.
"Our society is now calling on Defra and the Home Office to work with us towards undertaking a long term and UK wide properly funded scientific study and we hope to become a fully registered charity.
"Although the cats can be frightening they need protection and understanding. There are even reports in Wales of people armed with rifles going ?trophy hunting? for big cats in forests, that needs to be stopped.
"We will not be giving the exact location of our cameras. ?We have been developing an upgrade to the several camera traps that we currently have deployed and the new cameras will allow us to monitor the photographs captured almost real time via the internet.?
Feline sceptical? Read on
Beast of Bont - the alleged killer puma is said to have mutilated 50 sheep in Pontrhydfendigaid, near Aberystwyth, since 1995. Police marksmen combed the Tywi Forest to no avail.
Beast of Tonmawr - terrified residents claimed a large cat screamed and growled at them in the Afan/Neath Forest five years ago. London Zoo officials identified the creature as a North American jungle cat after a plaster cast was taken from paw prints.
Carmarthen cats - Experts blamed the death of lambs on a farm in Whitemill on a family of pumas.
Powys puma - Responsible for killing four sheep on a farm in Llangurig in 1980, police marksmen and RSPCA officials surrounded the creature in a barn, but it slipped out of a rear exit.
Beast of Bala - it killed lambs on a farm in Llanuwchllyn in 1995 and was killed by a farmer. It turned out to be a pet lemur.
Beast of Bont, Mark II - Police performed a helicopter search for a vicious creature which terrorised two 10-year-old boys in Pontarddulais, near Swansea, two years ago.
Felingwm foal attack - In 1997, a creature said to resemble a "cat-like beast" savaged a foal in Felingwm, Carmarthen.
Margam monster - Farmers mounted a 24-hour armed guard in fields after a creature was reported to have killed sheep. Worried parents were forced to provide their children with escorts to school.
Pontsticill puma - a farmer reported coming within 12 ft of a three foot-long cat which he described as "sleek and glossy".
Bryngarw beast - In 1983, a motorist spotted a large cat in his headlights whilst driving through Bryngarw near Croesyceiliog, Cwmbran.
Beast of Boncath - a sighting of a large cat in Llangoedmor, near Boncath, Pembrokeshire, in January 1996.
It seems that there is a movement to re-introduce the Eurasian Lynx back int ot he country,
The Eurasian lynx, an animal native to the British Isles, is a medium-sized felid that has been forced out of much of Western Europe by habitat destruction and human persecution. The last of the British lynx disappeared 1,300 years ago. Read our guide to this most iconic of species.
Cheers !
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