Are big cats like black panthers and leopards really roaming the UK?

Rumours of massive cats, akin to leopards and mountain lions, dwelling wild within the UK have been bubbling for decades. Now, reported DNA proof of a black leopard (Panthera pardus) in Gloucestershire and a latest spate of eye-witness accounts have renewed curiosity in the concept massive felines roam the nation. Here’s what we learn about these thriller cats.

Are there massive cats roaming wild within the UK?

The time period “massive cat” sometimes refers to species that belong to the genus Panthera, akin to lions, jaguars and leopards. Nonetheless, cheetahs, lynxes and cougars – also called mountain lions – are generally related to the phrase.

There are just a few instances of such animals being seen within the UK, akin to a puma captured in 1980 and a lynx shot by a farmer in 1991, however, in keeping with the UK’s Division of Atmosphere, Meals and Rural Affairs (Defra), there was no credible proof of massive cats offered to Pure England, a public physique accountable for the safety of England’s pure surroundings, in latest a long time.

“If we had been offered with credible data to counsel there was an enormous cat dwelling wild and posing a menace to public well being and security, we might report the matter to the native police and the Residence Workplace,” a Defra spokesperson instructed New Scientist.

However a handful of individuals disagree with this official evaluation. This consists of Rick Minter, the host of the Big Cat Conversations podcast, who believes the proof strongly suggests the presence of huge felines within the UK countryside.

The place are they and what number of are there?

Alleged sightings of massive cats have been reported throughout the UK. The British Big Cats Society says that it receives between 500 to 600 experiences a yr, however these are largely unverified and nameless. Freedom of information requests to UK police forces have additionally revealed a small variety of experiences over the previous decade.

The majority of the experiences have been of black leopards, also called panthers, says Minter. Round 15 per cent of sightings are of sandy-coloured cats, which may very well be mountain lions (Puma concolor), says Minter, and the remaining 5 per cent are of lynxes.

To maintain a steady and wholesome inhabitants, there would most likely should be at the least 300 people of every species, says Minter. There isn’t any proof of this although.

Is there any proof, past reported sightings?

Nothing agency, regardless of the variety of folks saying they’ve seen massive cats. “There must be scientific proof to again all of this up,” says Andrew Hemmings on the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, UK.

One strategy to establish the presence of those cats is to have a look at the carcasses of animals akin to foxes, deer and sheep; Hemmings and his colleagues have analysed over 100 carcasses. So far, solely 4 exhibit tooth marks, also called tooth pits, that counsel the involvement of a medium-to-large feral cat.

These analyses alone can’t present definitive proof although. “The gold commonplace could be to mix what we’re seeing with our tooth-pit evaluation with verified DNA proof,” says Hemmings.

Do now we have DNA proof?

Documentary producer Dragonfly Movies not too long ago claimed to have found the first DNA evidence for a big cat in Gloucestershire. Hemmings and Minter are optimistic in regards to the declare, however others are sceptical.

“Until they really recorded how that hair pattern was captured and examined, [the claim] can have a gray cloud over it,” says Danny Bamping on the British Huge Cats Society.

If the massive cats do exist, are they harmful?

There have been no confirmed incidences of untamed massive cats attacking folks or their pets within the UK.

“If given the selection, they might at all times keep away from human contact,” says Hemmings. “For my part, they pose a negligible threat to folks.”