Comments on: East London Bigfoot?

By: Strick

Strick — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:54:33 +0000

Yes, I don’t want to malign the lad, but Michael Kent doesn’t seem like the world’s foremost authority on the higher primates, which could possibly make him an expert on Essex girls with mange. I’m originally an Essex man myself, so it’s OK for me to pass judgement…

A lot of people are freaked out to see all the Muntjac that we have running around in the woods these days. I realise they are tiny and look absolutely nothing like either a bear or a bigfoot, but they can be disconcerting for those who have never run in to mini-deer before. Especially the males with the pointy tusks. I vote porky Muntjac

By: greatanarch

greatanarch — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:14:37 +0000

I thought bears had been extinct here for 1000 years? Unless we fall back on the old standby of an escapee from a zoo. Actually the hairy back and hunched-over posture give it away: it’s Essex man on his way home from a really rough night. Was it carrying a tekeaway curry?

By: Alligator

Alligator — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:11:13 +0000

Spring Heeled Jack redux? Or maybe the “Gray Man” has come down south from the Highlands?

Nae, I’d say some well known animal which the witness saw briefly and misidentified. Consider his statement “I’ve seen deer, dogs and even a cow before but never anything like this.” That’s pretty limited experience for for observing any kind of animal or wildlife, which means a fox, badger or an escaped exotic could really throw him off.

By: sausage1

sausage1 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:46:21 +0000

As a native Cockney let me tell you that there are no ‘woods’ in Wanstead within my ken. There is Wanstead park and Wanstead Golf Club, both of which boast squirrels and not much else due to being manicured to the nth degree.

Possible culprits? Coypu (escaped from farms in Norfolk in the 60s), feral dog, or Essex girl with mange who missed the last bus home. Which offers the chance for a gag.

Q What is the Essex Girl attachment on a Swiss Army Knife for?

A to get her feet out of your steering wheel.

“It’s the way I tell ‘em!”

By: Ranatemporaria

Ranatemporaria — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:53:58 +0000

Could it have been an escaped feral boar? I know there have been sightings of escaped swing sighted in the Chelmsford area and other locations around rural Essex (One confirmed sighting was in Great Leighs only around 16 miles from Hollow Ponds).

As the Wild Boar was historically hunted to extinction in the UK during the early 18th centuary. As such people here are certainly not used to spotting/identifying them in the local woods.

However there are more and more seemingly established populations formed from escaped farmed animals, which is not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion, being they are originally a native!

By: Kitsos

Kitsos — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:17:22 +0000

Capybara have been known to breed in the UK once they escaped and they do become quite large so it seems like a likely candidate. Coypu also have been known to escape Fur farms and breed but they rarely become larger than a meter or so. An escaped bear is a verrry far-fetched idea. Oh…and dogs aren’t exactly rare either heheheh.