Dragons and Big Cats

MICHAEL Goss,' in his description of Big Cat sightings as reported in newspapers, characterised and described the common salient features of these reports. Goss went on to try and discern antecedents of these big cat sightings in folk tradition-with little success. However, his characterisations do fit published descriptions of older monstrous beast sightings. Briefly, Goss's characterisations are: 1. An eyewitness account of a non-native animal. 2. The sighting is usually in an area of open land. 3. The encounter is usually brief, the witness may be on foot or riding (or motoring). 4. A description of the beast, often using familiar size indicators. 5. One sighting of the beast may be connected to others in the same area, which may be separated by days, months or years. 6. The animal may acquire a popular, or local, identification name. 7. Stated or tacit assumption that the beast is dangerous to humans (especially children) and livestock

CATS · Computer Science · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology