Are there large cats in the uk

She said she was absolutely terrified. Minter had spoken to the woman and believed her story checked out. At the end of the evening, a woman in the front row raised her hand. Do not submit. In a Scottish farmer trapped a puma in Cannich, in the Highlands.

The animal was given the name Felicity , and lived at a wildlife park for five years before being stuffed and displayed in Inverness Museum. In the Forestry Commission revealed it had observed big cats on two occasions while conducting deer surveys in the Forest of Dean.

Minter believes there is much more to the big cat phenomenon than these isolated incidents, and thinks a minimum of cats would provide a healthy gene pool. That is scientifically really bloody interesting. But where is the proof? Minter points out that sightings are rare even in countries where pumas and panthers exist in far greater numbers. He claims to have seen conclusive photos, though the evidence has been withheld from publication by landowners reluctant to attract publicity.

There are other lines of inquiry. Dr Andrew Hemmings , a researcher at the Royal Agricultural University, has for several years been conducting analysis of bite marks on animal carcasses. A man in Cornwall claimed he was attacked by a panther as it tried to climb through his window.

In Gloucestershire, a Liberal Democrat councillor spotted a lynx at Coaley Peak, just a few hundred yards from the spot where Minter and I had looked out over the vale.

I believe in big cats being in the area. Prior to the implementation of the Dangerous and Wild Animals Act many people of all walks of life kept exotic animals in their homes. With the advent of the Act it became apparent that owners would need to be licensed and comply with strict welfare and safety rules, so some people probably decided to release their big cats rather than have the trouble and expense of obeying the law.

It is unlikely that many such beasts would survive in the wild, but it would only take one pregnant female — or a mated pair — to establish a population. It was alleged that Mary Chipperfield of the famous Chipperfield Circus released three pumas , including a breeding pair, onto Dartmoor when her zoo was closed down in — though the family strenuously deny that.

With more than years of alleged sightings it is one of the more persistent urban myths, if indeed it is a myth — and somehow I like the idea that there are families of big feline predators living out there in the wild places of the UK, just minding their own business and getting on with life the best way they can.

Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. It avoids approaching human settlements. The wild cat lives solitarily and holds a territory of about 3 kilometres squared.

Males overlap ranges with females, however, females will not overlap ranges with other females. Wildcats are mainly crepuscular active during dawn and dusk. As is the case with all the smaller cats, wildcats cannot roar, however, they do use a variety of other sounds to communicate including growling, meowing, purring and hissing. Wild cats mate in February and March and produce 1 litter of 3 — 5 kittens after a gestation period of 63 — 68 days.

Kittens are born with hair but are blind and deaf. Their eyes open after 9 days and they emerge from the den at 4 — 5 weeks old.

They accompany their mother on hunting trips after 10 — 12 weeks. It was definitely big. If you put a house cat there, the grass will probably cover it. In Devon and Cornwall there have been 28 sightings — and five reports of farm animals being killed by big cats. In December , two sheep were found dead with claw marks on their backs near Torrington, North Devon.

And a month before two sheep had their throats ripped out near Axminster, also in Devon, according to police logs. The Beast of Cumbria is said to be a large non-native black cat much like a panther. In the most recent sighting, a pair of walkers came across the creature in the Lake District. The Creature of Cornwall is reportedly a stalking lion.