UK Big Cat Sighting For Halloween.

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Realising that the new-and-improved Rogue Nation website had an interest in Britain's 'Big Cat' phenomena,
The Sun newspaper leapt cat-like onto the bandwagon and produced this piece of cat-nip for our members.

ON THE PROWL

I’ve investigated big cats terrorising UK for 20 years – here’s proof they ARE on the loose and which towns are at risk

'Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the woods... a fresh wave of big cat sightings has left Brits terrified.
Dramatic doorbell footage of a 'black panther' stalking a Cheshire neighbourhood last week was just the latest in a
string of sightings across the UK in recent months.

And while over the years, debate has raged over whether grainy pictures and videos can conclusively prove that big beasts
are on the prowl, experts insist they are lurking in our countryside. Leading wildcat expert Rick Minter, who has investigated
the mysterious creatures' movements for 20 years, claims that there could be as many as 1,000 fierce felines hiding in forests
around the country.


Josh Williams claims this 'big animal' was eating a sheep.

The environmental consultant features in new documentary, Britain's Big Cat Mystery, which uses DNA analysis and
photographic evidence to 'prove' that fearsome creatures from black leopards to pumas and lynxes live in our woods.
"It's a crucial issue," Rick tells The Sun. "How do we come to terms with living alongside big cats in Britain?"
“It's hard to judge how they are distributed. Deer is their main food source, so they are everywhere in the UK in reasonable
numbers."


A still from the doorbell cam footage.

“Three sightings this month alone’
It is estimated that there are 2,000 reported big cat sightings each year, but this month a number of incidents have sparked
fears the creatures could be growing bolder. Rick says it's possible that the animals could have "roamed into new areas" in
the wake of lockdowns, but believes human activity could have caused a shift too.

"Green spaces on town edges became busier with people doing more local walks, which would disturb large cats and their
main prey, deer." There have been three sightings in the last few weeks, including homeowner Luke Hickman, 30, who
recorded a "black panther" outside his home in Newton, Cheshire. Doorbell camera footage showed the creature – bigger
than the average house moggy – with a long and curved tail move from behind his car before vanishing out of sight.

Two days earlier, Julie Murphy, who lives 10 minutes away, near Warrington, spotted an animal matching Luke’s description
when it “charged” at her vehicle. “Even though it was dark, I could tell it wasn’t a fox,” she told the Warrington Guardian.

Rick, who runs the Big Cat Conversations podcast, says the predators “very occasionally venture into urban areas at quiet times”
in the search for food. He added: “This is probably due to a big cat having a nearby territory and occasionally diverting to the urban
edges.”


A John Bilney still.

Earlier this month, Josh Williams, 17, thought he filmed a “big black cat… feeding on something like a dead animal” while
camping near Mermaid’s Pool, in the Peak District. He told the Stoke Sentinel that he heard an “occasional crunching” sound
on the footage, which he believed was “most likely a sheep” being eaten.

Britain's Big Cat Mystery gathers together some of the nation's most compelling photo and video evidence that wildcats are
roaming free in our countryside. They included John Bilney's 2020 photos of a big cat's torso, which expert Trevor McKenzie
said was "the most conclusive piece of evidence" he had seen. He said the trail cam shots showed “a juvenile mountain lion
or puma” and added: “There is no doubt in my mind.”

Matt Smith's 2016 photo, snapped in Devon, was also highlighted for depicting rose-like markings on a creature's fur that are
typically associated with a big cat. An odd cameo comes from Tiger King star Kelci Saffery, who claims Coryn Memory's 2009
picture from Gloucestershire depicts "a small or juvenile mountain lion or leopard".

The documentary also examines compelling physical evidence, including 240 bone samples collected by Professor Andrew
Hemmings, from the Royal Agricultural University. They come from "defleshed carcasses" and feature teeth marks that appear
to originate from the powerful jaws of a big cat.

Field naturalist Jonathan McGown found a "beautiful double footprint" in Devon, from a big cat stalking its prey.
The overlapping imprints are called ‘direct register’ – when cats' front and rear paws tread in the same footprint to reduce the
noise. Jonathan takes a mould and experts conclude the prints are from a “large non-native species” – likely a big cat due to
its circular toes and the double register. The documentary team requests access to one of the samples, a Devon hare from
2009, and sends it to Dr Todd Disotell, a biological anthropologist and molecular geneticist.

Results from the DNA testing conclude it was a Panthera Pardus - more commonly known as a leopard.
"So either indeed a leopard was running around in Devon when this was collected or somebody hoaxed or planted this DNA,"
Dr Disotell adds. Rick says he has personally heard of 1,400 credible accounts of big cats in the UK over the last decade,
but believes they are the "tip of the iceberg" as most go unreported.

Despite the recent sightings, he insists these big cats are “shy and wary animals” and not “large predators on the loose”.
He said: “They are far more scared of us and most often they are just trying to move humans away from their territory.
“They don’t want to risk getting injured from an encounter with humans or machines, and so they live in the shadows,
hidden away." “If they are drawn into urban areas, domestic-size cats may be taken unfortunately but this happens very
rarely. “They have an abundance of natural prey available – especially deer – so they don’t need to adapt their behaviour
to scavenge regularly.”...'

The Sun: