Animals often turn up in places where they are not expected. Take, for example, the big blakc cats of the English and Scottish moors.
In the wild bush country in the Highlands of Scotland there appears to be an unusual breed of cat. These animals are about the size of a small dog or a fox. They have a jet-black coat sprinkled with white guard hairs that make the animal appear to glisten in the moonlight. That, along with glowing green eyes give the cats a very supernatural appearance indeed.
They have been dubbed the Kellas cats. No one is absolutely certain just what these strange creatures are. Stories range from a new breed of wildcat to a mixture of the Scottish wildcat and stray domestic cats. Other stories hint at spirit cats and creatures brought in by aliens from outer space.
In 1984 a black beast that had been killing sheep in the Highlands was identified as a member of the Scottish wild cat family. The fact that the animal was black baffled experts but they decided it was an unknown black mutation of the wild cat.
In 1985, naturalists admitted they were puzzled by a large, black cat shot in Moray, Scotland as it prowled an estate where a similar cat was killed two years previous. Was it a new species or a mutation?
Sporadic sightings have continued through the years. One resident of Fife, Scotland reported several sightings of a large black cat, probably a Kellas cat. Large paw prints in the woods and the remains of sheep on neighboring farms added to the evidence.
The estimated number of Kellas cats varies from about 200 to 800 or more, but as they hide in the wild bushlands, no one knows for sure. Whatever they are, they have ravaged domestic animals such as the sheep Scotland is famous for, and, because of this, at least a dozen Kellas cats have been killed.
There are rumors that on the wild moors of Britain yet another strain of this feral cat exists. However, it has been more elusive than the Highland cats and the theory has yet to be proven.
Author Di Francis has managed to capture several of these beasts. She writes about them in her book "My Highland Kellas Cats." The photographs in this book are fascinating.
These cats are not domesticated animals and will never become any child's pet. They are truly animals of the wild. Beautiful, yes, with their glowing coats and shine-in-the-dark green eyes. But wild - feral - as I imagine God intended all cats to be in the beginning.
