Saturday, January 14, 2012
The Citizen
A FRESH big cat sighting near Woodchester Park has raised expectations that a panther could be roaming the Stroud Valleys.
While experts evaluate DNA evidence taken from a deer savaged near the historic country park, a Gloucestershire big cat expert said there has been a sighting nearby.
Frank Tunbridge said he received a call from a woman who saw a black panther-like creature near the Ram Inn, South Woodchester.
He was told she had seen an animal resembling a large black cat on Thursday morning near allotments between the pub and the A46.
"She said she saw it while walking her two dogs," said Mr Tunbridge, who has been tracking big cats in the Cotswolds for decades.
"The dogs showed lots of interest in it but didn't chase. Then it was gone."
He said she believed it could have been a black cat, and it was about the size of an Alsatian dog.
"It's consistent with other sightings we have had in the area," said Mr Tunbridge, who inspected the remains of the Roe deer savaged by what is believed to be a big cat near the National Trust's Woodchester Park last week.
Mr Tunbridge said big cats living in the wild in the UK tend to be black and said they could be leopards or cougars.
He also believes there are smaller lynx – which are brown or beige in colour.
According to Mr Tunbridge, the deer bore many of the hallmarks of a big cat attack – its nose was bitten off, neck punctured, and its intestines were not touched.
"Cats take organs like the heart, kidneys and liver because they can't digest what's in the stomach and intestines," he said.
Samples from the deer have been taken away by Dr Robin Allaby, associate professor at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick.
The results are due by the end of the month.
A walker sent photographs of the carcass to experts last week after noticing particular features on the deer which could suggest it had been killed by a large predator.
David Armstrong, National Trust head ranger for Gloucestershire said it was found close to Woodchester Park next to a beech woodland sloping down to pasture below.
Rick Minter, who recently published Big Cats: Facing Britain's Wild Predators (Whittles, £18.99), said the DNA testing could be very valuable.
"If the test comes back with cat DNA, obviously that's a development," he said. "But even if it doesn't, it doesn't disprove that there are big cats out there in the British countryside.
"What's important to remember though is that they are very shy animals that tend to stay away from humans - they will know of our presence before we will."
His book, which he will be signing on January 26 at Waterstones in Eastgate Street, presents the issues big cats living wild in Britain and looks at how people respond to them.
The grisly discovery at Woodchester is not the first evidence of a big cat in the area. Nursing assistant Emily Shiers came face to face with one in a field near Callowell School, Stroud in October 2010.
The same month milkman Ian Coward saw two big black cats on his rounds in Kaskelot Way during the early hours.
And it may be that big cats have roamed Woodchester before – the Roman Woodchester Mosaic features a tiger, a leopard, and a lion – as as well as an elephant, a bear, a stag, a horse, and a wild boar.
If you have any news on this item please let us know by leaving a comment or email bcib@btopenworld.com Please report any sightings at http://www.bigcatsinbritain.org/localreportform.htm If you wish to comment on any of the items please click the header of the story.
The Citizen
A FRESH big cat sighting near Woodchester Park has raised expectations that a panther could be roaming the Stroud Valleys.
While experts evaluate DNA evidence taken from a deer savaged near the historic country park, a Gloucestershire big cat expert said there has been a sighting nearby.
- Big cat expert Rick Minter
He was told she had seen an animal resembling a large black cat on Thursday morning near allotments between the pub and the A46.
"She said she saw it while walking her two dogs," said Mr Tunbridge, who has been tracking big cats in the Cotswolds for decades.
"The dogs showed lots of interest in it but didn't chase. Then it was gone."
He said she believed it could have been a black cat, and it was about the size of an Alsatian dog.
"It's consistent with other sightings we have had in the area," said Mr Tunbridge, who inspected the remains of the Roe deer savaged by what is believed to be a big cat near the National Trust's Woodchester Park last week.
Mr Tunbridge said big cats living in the wild in the UK tend to be black and said they could be leopards or cougars.
He also believes there are smaller lynx – which are brown or beige in colour.
According to Mr Tunbridge, the deer bore many of the hallmarks of a big cat attack – its nose was bitten off, neck punctured, and its intestines were not touched.
"Cats take organs like the heart, kidneys and liver because they can't digest what's in the stomach and intestines," he said.
Samples from the deer have been taken away by Dr Robin Allaby, associate professor at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick.
The results are due by the end of the month.
A walker sent photographs of the carcass to experts last week after noticing particular features on the deer which could suggest it had been killed by a large predator.
David Armstrong, National Trust head ranger for Gloucestershire said it was found close to Woodchester Park next to a beech woodland sloping down to pasture below.
Rick Minter, who recently published Big Cats: Facing Britain's Wild Predators (Whittles, £18.99), said the DNA testing could be very valuable.
"If the test comes back with cat DNA, obviously that's a development," he said. "But even if it doesn't, it doesn't disprove that there are big cats out there in the British countryside.
"What's important to remember though is that they are very shy animals that tend to stay away from humans - they will know of our presence before we will."
His book, which he will be signing on January 26 at Waterstones in Eastgate Street, presents the issues big cats living wild in Britain and looks at how people respond to them.
The grisly discovery at Woodchester is not the first evidence of a big cat in the area. Nursing assistant Emily Shiers came face to face with one in a field near Callowell School, Stroud in October 2010.
The same month milkman Ian Coward saw two big black cats on his rounds in Kaskelot Way during the early hours.
And it may be that big cats have roamed Woodchester before – the Roman Woodchester Mosaic features a tiger, a leopard, and a lion – as as well as an elephant, a bear, a stag, a horse, and a wild boar.
If you have any news on this item please let us know by leaving a comment or email bcib@btopenworld.com Please report any sightings at http://www.bigcatsinbritain.org/localreportform.htm If you wish to comment on any of the items please click the header of the story.
0 comments:
Post a Comment