Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.
Before I do, I must make you aware that what I tell is completely true with absolutely no lies at all. Just typing this is making my heart beat faster.
It was 8.30pm and I was working in my office. From here I can hear the sounds of the horses in the field outside my house. There are 3 horses in one paddock, and two in another. Horses spook easily so it isn't unusual to hear them galloping around at different times of the night. We have foxes and owls that like to make their presence known but tonight I heard a new noise.
A short scream from a horse. A high pitched whinny. An unusual sound that made me leave my office. I went outside and listened. The horses weren't stampeding. In fact, the quiet was very odd. I decided to get my torch (1 million candle power) and scan across the field. I saw the 3 horses as normal. Where the field ends I noticed one horse calmly eating. There isn't much grass at the moment but he must have found a really tasty patch.
It is quite dark so the torch can pick out detail where it hits an object. Clearly, eyes can be reflecting in such conditions. I scanned right. Then left. I was surprised to see a pair of eyes that were nearer to the ground reflecting back at me. The distance away is about 50 yards. I knew that the owner of the eyes was smaller than our smallest pony (about 13 hands high). The eyes were set in a head that wasn't a horse's head. The long back was clearly not the back of a horse due to the way that it undulated when it walked. The eyes weren't yet looking in any particular direction. Then I noticed another pair of eyes to the left of the first animal. Again the eyes were clearly belonging to an animal that was somehow powerful.
I remember from teaching biology that predators had eyes close together, prey had eyes further apart. Both sets were close together. The manner in which they walked suggested curiosity. I imagined now that the pony was standing still to not draw attention to itself. I scanned back at the mysterious eyes. They had now both turned toward me. There is something primeval that we all feel when faced with a big cat that is in an enclosure. Imagine that feeling but knowing that there is nothing between you and the animals. Not just one, but two.
The cat that I saw first started walking towards me. The second when also moved my way.
I quickly retreated to the house and carried on my viewing from an upstairs window. I noticed just one of the cats a little further away in the next field. All the horses were now acting very friskily at the opposite end of the field. Five minutes later, they were eating again.
In the morning I will be investigating the area where I saw the cats. I'll also check the horses. Just to give you an idea of size, I would say that they stood about 2 foot tall (floor to shoulder) and were about 5 foot from nose to base of tail. The tail isn't something that I actually saw. I thought I did but I can't remember it whilst I'm typing this.
Those of you that know me will know that I am not a person of extreme emotion and I'm certainly not given to flights of fancy.
I have seen not one but two wild cats.
They were huge.
I was very scared.
Before I do, I must make you aware that what I tell is completely true with absolutely no lies at all. Just typing this is making my heart beat faster.
It was 8.30pm and I was working in my office. From here I can hear the sounds of the horses in the field outside my house. There are 3 horses in one paddock, and two in another. Horses spook easily so it isn't unusual to hear them galloping around at different times of the night. We have foxes and owls that like to make their presence known but tonight I heard a new noise.
A short scream from a horse. A high pitched whinny. An unusual sound that made me leave my office. I went outside and listened. The horses weren't stampeding. In fact, the quiet was very odd. I decided to get my torch (1 million candle power) and scan across the field. I saw the 3 horses as normal. Where the field ends I noticed one horse calmly eating. There isn't much grass at the moment but he must have found a really tasty patch.
It is quite dark so the torch can pick out detail where it hits an object. Clearly, eyes can be reflecting in such conditions. I scanned right. Then left. I was surprised to see a pair of eyes that were nearer to the ground reflecting back at me. The distance away is about 50 yards. I knew that the owner of the eyes was smaller than our smallest pony (about 13 hands high). The eyes were set in a head that wasn't a horse's head. The long back was clearly not the back of a horse due to the way that it undulated when it walked. The eyes weren't yet looking in any particular direction. Then I noticed another pair of eyes to the left of the first animal. Again the eyes were clearly belonging to an animal that was somehow powerful.
I remember from teaching biology that predators had eyes close together, prey had eyes further apart. Both sets were close together. The manner in which they walked suggested curiosity. I imagined now that the pony was standing still to not draw attention to itself. I scanned back at the mysterious eyes. They had now both turned toward me. There is something primeval that we all feel when faced with a big cat that is in an enclosure. Imagine that feeling but knowing that there is nothing between you and the animals. Not just one, but two.
The cat that I saw first started walking towards me. The second when also moved my way.
I quickly retreated to the house and carried on my viewing from an upstairs window. I noticed just one of the cats a little further away in the next field. All the horses were now acting very friskily at the opposite end of the field. Five minutes later, they were eating again.
In the morning I will be investigating the area where I saw the cats. I'll also check the horses. Just to give you an idea of size, I would say that they stood about 2 foot tall (floor to shoulder) and were about 5 foot from nose to base of tail. The tail isn't something that I actually saw. I thought I did but I can't remember it whilst I'm typing this.
Those of you that know me will know that I am not a person of extreme emotion and I'm certainly not given to flights of fancy.
I have seen not one but two wild cats.
They were huge.
I was very scared.
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