Three wallabies found savaged to death by big cat after mystery predator stalking the Cotswolds strikes again

• Trio found stripped to the bone with internal organs neatly placed beside their bodies
• Experts believe the Wildcat of Woodchester is behind the attack following deaths of three deer this month
• Mutilated wallabies found 12 miles from where big cat is first believed to have struck

Mail on Line

By Anthony Bond
Last updated at 6:31 PM on 25th January 2012

A mysterious blood-thirsty wild cat is feared to have struck again after three wallabies were found devoured on farmland.
The trio were found stripped to the bone, with their internal organs neatly placed beside their bodies.
Examinations revealed they had suffered puncture wounds to the neck - consistent with a vicious attack by a panther-like creature.

Devoured: The remains of one of the wallabies which is believed to have been killed by the Wildcat of Woodchester, which is feared to have killed three deer earlier this month
Experts now believe the animals were devoured by the Wildcat of Woodchester which is already believed to have killed three times this month.
The mutilated bodies of three deer have been found in the past few weeks in countryside near Stroud, Gloucestershire - just 12 miles from where the wallabies were mauled to death.
The wallabies were found only 12 miles apart leading to the belief that it was the same cat
Samples of DNA from the predator's first deer kill on January 4 are currently being tested to confirm whether or not a big cat is behind the killings.
The results are expected to be revealed over the next few days.
But big cat expert Frank Tunbridge is in no doubt over who killed the wallabies and the deer.
Mr Tunbridge, 65, said: 'There could be no creature other than a big cat that could bring down and kill these wallabies.
'The field was surrounded by a 7ft fence and there was no apparent entry signs - so the predator must have leapt over it.
'The killer struck over two nights. The first night he killed two wallabies, stripped one of the carcasses down and hid the other under a pile of leaves and straw.
'Then he came back and killed a third - devouring his further kills. A fourth wallaby appears to have died from a heart attack.
'The wallabies are only about 12 miles from Woodchester so it appears that this could be the same big cat.
'They have all the hallmarks of a panther or puma kill.'
The wallabies, part of a private collection, were found by their devastated owner on January 6 - two days after the apparent first kill by the Wildcat of Woodchester.
The Gloucestershire farmer did not want to divulge his name or location.

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