Man who woke up in the woods with mysterious injuries wonders if he was attacked by a big cat

A man who woke up with mysterious injuries after being knocked unconscious in remote woodland believes he may have been jumped on by a wild cat. Nich Boden has little recollection of the encounter in the early hours of Thursday morning near to Tarn Hows Wood, between Coniston and Hawkshead in Cumbria. The incident unfolded when the 26-year-old felt 'something hit him' as he walked home from a friend's house in the pitch black. Thirty minutes later he woke up with a deep five-inch gouge on his left shoulder and what appears to be four claw marks on his forearm.



"I know it's all a bit far-fetched but it seems very mysterious and not beyond the realms of possibility," said Mr Boden, who is originally from Rochdale. "I know the woods quite well so have no problem walking in the dark. All I really remember was being hit from my front right and because I smacked my head when I fell it was all a bit hazy after. It wasn't until I got back to Hawkshead that I realised how bad it was." Danny Bamping, founder of the Big Cat Society, said he could not determine from the images whether they were caused by a big cat and was planning to visit Cumbria to speak with Mr Boden this weekend and investigate further.

South Lakes vet Iain Richards cast doubt on the encounter, saying: "Any wild cat will almost certainly do a runner rather than attack. It does make you wonder when you see four parallel scratch marks but I think the most likely thing is that he has fallen onto brambles and it's just a coincidence. It appears the deepest of the four marks is closest to his elbow. Generally with cat scratches the deepest would be in the middle." Tom Smith, a Scottish GP who has written dozens of medical books, added: "Animals generally attack from the back. The spaces between the claws are too large unless the cat was the size of a lion and no cat I know of produces single slash marks."



"Everyone who has seen the scars has suggested I was attacked by a wild animal," Mr Boden says. "I laughed it off at first until one of my colleagues mentioned a wild cat being spotted very close to where the incident happened. I am still covered in these scars, some of which will probably be permanent, but I just thought this is highly coincidental, considering that a lot of the scars I have could have been caused by a large cat." Luke Barley, the National Trust’s ranger for Coniston and the surrounding area said: “We care for Tarn Hows and the surrounding landscape 365 days a year, but we’ve never seen any signs of a wild cat, nor have we had any reports from anyone that they’ve seen a wild cat. Tarn Hows is a beautiful and safe place for a walk, whether by day or night."