500 BIG CATS ARE PROWLING THE
Pumas and leopards among 1.3k sightings
HUNDREDS of big cats the size of pumas are prowling the British countryside, it is claimed.
Experts say they have strong evidence of their existence following years of rumoured sightings.
And they claim that up to 500 of the animals could be roaming free.
Dr Andrew Hemmings, from the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, Glos, has identified five animal carcasses with huge bite marks.
He said the bones had been gnawed with giant tooth imprints that could only be made by a cat the size of a leopard or puma.
And Dr Hemmings, above, also said the teeth marks were definitely made by a feline animal and not a dog or other native carnivore.
He added: “If you look at the upper carnassial teeth there are three projections from the tooth, and the distance between two of them is far wider in cats – probably double that found in a similar imprint from a dog.
“In the past six years we have analysed more than 100 skeletal remains and from that we have 16 good carnassial samples.
“Five of those we are relatively confident come from a medium to largesized felid [cat].
“The others are more suggestive of small carnivores but five certainly do fit the bill as far as puma or melanistic [black] leopard.”
Dr Hemmings said that five of his colleagues at the university had reported seeing a big cat, with one having seen a mountain lion, also known as a puma. As part of the study they fed black leopards and pumas at Exmoor Zoo to see whether the tooth imprints matched their samples, which they did.
He added: “It’s really no surprise to me any more that these things are out there, it’s just a search for the documentary, empirical and objective evidence.” Some believe the animals were dumped in the countryside after the introduction of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act in 1976, which banned keeping big cats as pets. Big-cat expert Rick Minter, who worked as a policy officer for Countryside Commission, recorded more than 1,300 sightings. He believes around 500 cats are on the loose; half of them black leopards, half pumas. Mr Minter added: “Most witnesses and informants are reliable people – police officers, military personnel, scientists. The way [these cats] kill deer is something which is taught behaviour. “Farmers say it is so different from a dog killing deer or sheep. It’s so clinical.” Their findings come as a documentary planned for next year claims to have evidence of the animals.
Britain’s Big Cat Mystery explores sightings around the country.