'Big cat DNA' found after sheep attack in Gloucestershire, England

[AGXStarseed]

(Not written by me. The following article is from May 2023. Due to the article containing images some may find upsetting, I will not be posting those select images here).

Is there now proof of big cats in Gloucestershire?

DNA from a black hair caught on a barbwire fence in Gloucestershire following a sheep attack has been offered as 'definitive proof' big cats are roaming the British countryside. The single strand was sent off for testing after being recovered from a farm where there had been some "unusual predatory" activity.

Suspicion was raised when video footage of a large black animal was also captured only a few miles away from where the sample was taken. And documentary-makers, who had been investigating sightings across the UK, say the test has now come back 'positive' and confirmed the existence of black panthers and other big cats living in the UK.

A forensic laboratory took on the species identification task and used mitochondrial DNA analysis to ascertain a 99 per cent match to a big cat species. The findings have come to light as part of filming for an upcoming documentary Panthera Britannia Declassified - which investigates claims of big cat sightings in Britain.

Matthew Everett, from Dragonfly Films, said: "The DNA was from hairs caught on a barbwire fence where there had been some unusual predatory activity. It’s taken five years for the production team to find such evidence and film its journey from collection to analysis.

"People in Gloucestershire and Britain have described what appear to be black leopards for decades. So, a leopard DNA result from a black hair sample is unsurprising. This is not the first such DNA result and is unlikely to be the last.

"There is a great deal of ‘secondary evidence’ for these cats, such as consistent witness reports, but hard evidence like DNA is hard to get, so the contribution from this documentary is very helpful.

"Collecting such evidence from local people, farmers and landowners is essential - Citizen Science like this will hopefully help us learn more about the Bagheera type big cats which may be quietly naturalising here."

Several sightings of a large black cat were reported last year in Gloucestershire - including reports of one on the side of the motorway and another near an airport. The farm where the DNA sample was recovered has had two individual sheep kill incidents in five years.

During that time there have been regular sightings of cats resembling black leopards in the nearby countryside.

The previous sheep carcass at the same farm as the DNA result, was assessed for its tooth pits, which are marks on the bones from carnassial teeth of an animal that has fed on the carcass. Tooth pit analysis conducted at the Royal Agricultural University suggests that relatively large carnivores have fed on the carcasses examined, because of the impacted bones.

Witnesses commonly describe black panthers they see as 'healthy' and 'confident', which suggests they grew up in their environment.

These cats mainly prey on wild animals like deer, and they have been reported pursuing foxes and even mousing, and going for ducks, geese and pigeons. While they can switch to sheep, it seems that they much prefer natural game.

Dragonfly Films is currently pursuing broadcast options for Panthera Britannia Declassified. An earlier version of the film “Panthera Britannia” available on Amazon Prime, Vimeo and Apple TV.

Article Source: Gloucestershire Live

Related (Article dated 29th January 2024): Big cat 'the size of a cheetah' seen in woods near town

 

[Tom]

Very Interesting. It's good to be sceptical but this may have some physical evidence to back up the sightings.

We have our own mountain lion sightings here where I like in PA mountains, but as yet no physical evidence or animal killings like what is described in UK. Its usually just personal testimony of something like a big tan 'non deer' animal leaping accross the road in front of a car.

We did have a documented case of a mountain lion in Conneticut I believe which died there or was trapped. It was even traced via DNA to an animal kill in Minnesota. But it originated out west where they still live in the wild. I wonder where the UK lions if they exist came from? Zoo or exotic (possibly illegal) pet escape?

 

[AGXStarseed]

Very Interesting. It's good to be sceptical but this may have some physical evidence to back up the sightings.

We have our own mountain lion sightings here where I like in PA mountains, but as yet no physical evidence or animal killings like what is described in UK. Its usually just personal testimony of something like a big tan 'non deer' animal leaping accross the road in front of a car.

We did have a documented case of a mountain lion in Conneticut I believe which died there or was trapped. It was even traced via DNA to an animal kill in Minnesota. But it originated out west where they still live in the wild. I wonder where the UK lions if they exist came from? Zoo or exotic (possibly illegal) pet escape?

Based on what I've heard or read, Englishmen in the Victorian Era spent plenty of time traveling around the world to different places - such as Africa and India - as steam power helped greatly improve travel, with some of the richer individuals bringing back animals from other countries in order to show them off in their homes to their friends/guests at parties.
As you can probably expect, a lot of rich Englishmen brought home a menagerie of exotic species to have as pets - with Black Panthers been among them (since who wouldn't be impressed by a large carnivorous cat?).

However, the balance of political power would inevitably shift and the laws would ultimately change - with this including the government at the time banning the ownership of exotic animals but not financially contributing to getting rid of them.
As such, when faced with the option of either shelling out a lot of money to send the animals back or just releasing them into the wild in the belief that they'd either all be shot or die by the time winter came, most of these exotic animals were turned loose into the countryside.

In the case of the Black Panthers, however, it appears they were able to survive Britain's winters - with enough specimens around to breed and plenty of wild animals such as rabbits, pigeons, deer and occasionally farm livestock to eat. With such a hypothetically small number around (probably only into the hundreds) and many predators naturally been more hesitant to enter human areas of habitation, however, it makes sense why their existence has been harder to conclusively prove compared to other "alien" species in Britain - examples of the latter including the American Grey Squirrels, Ring-Necked Parakeets, Minks and even Wallabies (which have all made their home in the UK for better or worse).

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

The panthers of the Everglades and Big Cypress are traveling north. I am north of the Calusahatchee River by quite a few miles and they are caught on game cameras on my property.

I haven't heard of any killing of pets or livestock in my area, but these do occur in the Naples area.

 

[AGXStarseed]

The panthers of the Everglades and Big Cypress are traveling north. I am north of the Calusahatchee River by quite a few miles and they are caught on game cameras on my property. View attachment 126319

I haven't heard of any killing of pets or livestock in my area, but these do occur in the Naples area.

My guess is they prefer to go after natural prey and will only go after livestock if absolutely necessary.
I will admit I could be wrong in that regard, though.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

The island of Great Britain, and her surrounding archipelago needs more large predators for a healthy ecosystem. Most of them were killed off decades if not centuries ago. Wolves and lynx hunted to extinction are the two main species.

It will do you good to have more apex predators.

No one's been attacked by said big cats in the decades that they've been sighted? Well, then, no one likely will.

May they reproduce and keep your deer population in check.

 

[Outdated]

There seems to be either very little restriction or very inadequate policing of what animals people are allowed to own in the UK. I see a lot of stories about many different types of animals either escaping or being dumped when the owners can't care for them any more. It seems to be mostly snakes, emus and wallabies but every now and then something a little more exotic shows up.

American snapping turtle found in the UK

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[Raggamuffin]

My previous gf was obsessed with black foxes, and was a leading researcher. She said a lot of large cat sightings can be attributed to them.

Ed

 

[AGXStarseed]

The island of Great Britain, and her surrounding archipelago needs more large predators for a healthy ecosystem. Most of them were killed off decades if not centuries ago. Wolves and lynx hunted to extinction are the two main species.

It will do you good to have more apex predators.

No one's been attacked by said big cats in the decades that they've been sighted? Well, then, no one likely will.

May they reproduce and keep your deer population in check.

Thanks but no thanks - I'd rather have my only worries regarding walking through the countryside with my nieces and nephews be insects and cow muck rather than worrying that a big cat is looking at us as a potential meal.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

(Not written by me. The following article is from May 2023. Due to the article containing images some may find upsetting, I will not be posting those select images here).

Is there now proof of big cats in Gloucestershire?

DNA from a black hair caught on a barbwire fence in Gloucestershire following a sheep attack has been offered as 'definitive proof' big cats are roaming the British countryside. The single strand was sent off for testing after being recovered from a farm where there had been some "unusual predatory" activity.

Suspicion was raised when video footage of a large black animal was also captured only a few miles away from where the sample was taken. And documentary-makers, who had been investigating sightings across the UK, say the test has now come back 'positive' and confirmed the existence of black panthers and other big cats living in the UK.

A forensic laboratory took on the species identification task and used mitochondrial DNA analysis to ascertain a 99 per cent match to a big cat species. The findings have come to light as part of filming for an upcoming documentary Panthera Britannia Declassified - which investigates claims of big cat sightings in Britain.

Matthew Everett, from Dragonfly Films, said: "The DNA was from hairs caught on a barbwire fence where there had been some unusual predatory activity. It’s taken five years for the production team to find such evidence and film its journey from collection to analysis.

"People in Gloucestershire and Britain have described what appear to be black leopards for decades. So, a leopard DNA result from a black hair sample is unsurprising. This is not the first such DNA result and is unlikely to be the last.

"There is a great deal of ‘secondary evidence’ for these cats, such as consistent witness reports, but hard evidence like DNA is hard to get, so the contribution from this documentary is very helpful.

"Collecting such evidence from local people, farmers and landowners is essential - Citizen Science like this will hopefully help us learn more about the Bagheera type big cats which may be quietly naturalising here."

Several sightings of a large black cat were reported last year in Gloucestershire - including reports of one on the side of the motorway and another near an airport. The farm where the DNA sample was recovered has had two individual sheep kill incidents in five years.

During that time there have been regular sightings of cats resembling black leopards in the nearby countryside.

The previous sheep carcass at the same farm as the DNA result, was assessed for its tooth pits, which are marks on the bones from carnassial teeth of an animal that has fed on the carcass. Tooth pit analysis conducted at the Royal Agricultural University suggests that relatively large carnivores have fed on the carcasses examined, because of the impacted bones.

Witnesses commonly describe black panthers they see as 'healthy' and 'confident', which suggests they grew up in their environment.

These cats mainly prey on wild animals like deer, and they have been reported pursuing foxes and even mousing, and going for ducks, geese and pigeons. While they can switch to sheep, it seems that they much prefer natural game.

Dragonfly Films is currently pursuing broadcast options for Panthera Britannia Declassified. An earlier version of the film “Panthera Britannia” available on Amazon Prime, Vimeo and Apple TV.

Article Source: Gloucestershire Live

Related (Article dated 29th January 2024): Big cat 'the size of a cheetah' seen in woods near town

It's my understanding that the black panthers are native to S. America, which leads me to think this cat, or group of cats, was originally part of the exotic pet trade and escaped or was let loose. I can imagine someone realizing the police were likely on his/her trail and rather than being caught with the evidence, just letting the animals loose into the countryside. I can only speculate.

We have a similar problem in the US.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Thanks but no thanks - I'd rather have my only worries regarding walking through the countryside with my nieces and nephews be insects and cow muck rather than worrying that a big cat is looking at us as a potential meal.

I wouldn't worry. I have lived many places within mtn lion territory. spotted one very closeby. i've befriended coyotes. been up close with bobcats. passed by a zillion rattlesnakes. swam with venomous animals as well.

they're really not out to get you. they're our friends. do you like birds of prey?

 

[AGXStarseed]

I wouldn't worry. I have lived many places within mtn lion territory. spotted one very closeby. i've befriended coyotes. been up close with bobcats. passed by a zillion rattlesnakes. swam with venomous animals as well.

they're really not out to get you. they're our friends. do you like birds of prey?

A sparrowhawk, kestrel or peregrine falcon isn't going to actively attack me or my nieces/nephews for food; a Black Panther might.
As a responsible adult, I'm not willing to take the risk otherwise - especially for a species that shouldn't be in the UK to begin with and only is because some rich idiots wanted to show off their exotic pets/trophies and then, because they and the government didn't want to pay to send them back when it was made illegal to have them, released them into the countryside without considering or caring what would happen after.
Also, in America, you have the option of having a firearm with you if you go into places where larger predators/dangerous animals roam; the majority of us here in the UK don't have that option and we chose to make it that way after a tragic incident at a primary school in Scotland in 1996.

If we get conclusive proof of Black Panthers been around in the UK (such as someone shooting one or catching one alive), my personal preference is that they are found, tranquilized and sent to wildlife sanctuaries in the countries their ancestors were taken from (such as Africa and India); that way they can be be rehabilitated and released back into the wild or at least grow up in safety without the risk of a hunter putting a bullet in their heads.

As is, as soon as it is revealed that the species does exist if conclusive proof is found, chances are the majority of the British Public will want rid of them in one way or another.
We've already mostly banned Pitbulls in the UK as a result of the species been responsible for the deaths of several children/adults, with the most recent been the complete banning of XL Bully Dogs after an 11 year old girl was mauled in an unprovoked attack, a 10-year old boy was mauled by an out-of-control dog and a man was mauled to death by two dogs.

If we're willing to see an entire domestic dog breed get banned for been too dangerous, do you really think we're going to allow a confirmed wild population of big cats that could attack humans to roam free while simply hoping that a child or adult doesn't end up in the wrong place at the wrong time?