Kellas cat
| Kellas cat | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mounted zoological specimen of a Kellas cat | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | Felis |
| Species: | |
The Kellas cat is a large black
Specimens, examination, and captive breeding
The "dog-size" animal snared in 1984 was 38 centimetres (15 inches) to shoulder height and measured 110 cm (43 in) from nose to tail.
A researcher at the National Museum of Scotland examined eight Kellas cat specimens.[7] One carcass was already in the Museum's collection; the remaining seven were supplied by Di Francis,[8] who was described by Thomas as a "writer, researcher and practical naturalist".[7] Thomas identified one of the animals as a melanistic wildcat;[7] this juvenile male was the first wildcat ever documented as melanistic in Scotland.[9] Most of the other specimens examined were concluded to be hybrids but more closely aligned to the Scottish wildcat; only one hybrid leaned more towards a domestic cat.[10]
The purported first live Kellas cat, a female, was caught at the Kellas estate by the Tomorrow's World team and featured in the 1986 episode "On the Trail of the Big Cat".[11] A second, male, was captured in 1988 in Inverness-shire. Both were kept for a time in the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig, then eventually taken on by Francis; she found them untameable but successfully bred them, producing the first litter of captive-born Kellas kittens.[12]
The Zoology Museum of the University of Aberdeen also holds a mounted specimen that was found during 2002 in the Insch area of Aberdeenshire.[13] Another specimen is kept in a museum in Elgin.[14][unreliable source]
Distinction from other alleged cats in Britain
In 1988, in Dufftown, Moray, another wildcat-sized black animal was trapped and killed, and upon examination has been suggested to be a different species entirely, for having a very different skull structure, which is narrower and elongated, with a notably smaller brainpan, and unusual dentition.[15]
Media reports about the Kellas cat in the 1980s often confused it, despite it being not much larger than a house cat, with
Cat-sìth legend
The folklore of the cat-sìth ('fairy cat') may have been inspired by the Kellas cat.[18] The cat-sìth is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. Legend has it that the ghostly cat haunts the Scottish Highlands. The legends surrounding this creature are more common in Scottish mythology, but a few occur in Irish mythology.
The historian Charles Thomas speculated that the Pictish stone at Golspie may depict a Kellas cat.[19] The Golspie stone, now held at the Dunrobin Castle Museum, shows a cat-like creature standing on top of a salmon, which may allude to the characteristics ascribed to a Kellas cat of catching fish while swimming in the river.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b Bowers (2006).
- ^ Francis (1996), pp. 5–7.
- ISBN 978-0-8018-8033-9– via Internet Archive.
- ^ Francis (1996), p. 10.
- ^ Francis (1993), p. 140.
- ^ Francis (1993), p. 141.
- ^ a b c d Thomas (2013), p. 174.
- ^ Kitchener (1996), p. 395.
- ^ Kitchener (1996), p. 213.
- ^ Kitchener (1996), pp. 397–399.
- BBC 1– via YouTube.
- ^ Francis (1993), p. 142.
- ^ "Catalogue record: ABDUZ:CLD07". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
- ^ "Kellas Cat". Engole: The Elven for Knoweledge. 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ Francis (1993), pp. 143–144.
- ^ Francis (1993), pp. 141–142, et passim.
- ^ Francis (1993), pp. 127–128.
- ISBN 978-1-4351-1086-1.
- ^ Thomas (2013), p. 175.
Bibliography
- Bowers, Aron (2006). "Kellas Cats, Scotching the Myth". ScotCats.online.fr. Scottish Big Cat Trust. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015.
- Francis, Di (1993). The Beast of Exmoor: And Other Mystery Predators of Britain. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 9780224036658– via Internet Archive.
- Francis, Di (1996) [1993]. My Highland Kellas Cats: The discovery and origin of a ferocious new black wild cat (Large-print ed.). Leicester: Ulverscroft. ISBN 9780708935392– via Internet Archive.
- Kitchener, Andrew (1996) [1993]. "Appendix: Investigating the Identity of the Kellas Cats". In Francis, Di (ed.). My Highland Kellas Cats. (Op. cit.)
- Thomas, Charles (2013). Gathering the Fragments: The Selected Essays of a Groundbreaking Historian. Sheffield: Cornovia Press. ISBN 978-1-908878-02-1.
