Big cats DO live in British countryside claims expert

... after analyzing bodies of animals slaughtered in mysterious circumstances 

• Bones of wild animals found dead analysed for unusual teeth marks
• Dr Andrew Hemmings studied bones animals found around Gloucestershire
• Marks on three sets of bones indicated that big cats were responsible

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 3 November 2013

Scientists believe they may have found evidence to show that big cats really are roaming the British countryside, by analysing teeth marks on the bones of their 'victims.'

From the Beast of Trowbridge, to the Wildcat of Woodchester, big cat sightings have sparked the imaginations of many people over the years, although bar a few fuzzy photographs there has been little to prove their existence.

Now expert Dr Andrew Hemmings believes he has found proof that big cats have been stalking Gloucestershire and neighbouring counties by analysing the remains of wild animals, which appear to have been eaten by beasts larger than any knows British carnivores.

Beastly goings on: Scientists believe they may have found evidence to show that big cats, such as the 'Beast of Trowbridge', spotted earlier this year, really are roaming the British countryside, by analysing teeth marks on the bones of their 'victims'

Dr Hemmings, a senior lecturer in animal science at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, has spent the last year examining 20 animal skeletons which all bore unusual teethmarks.

Some of the livestock and deer remains, found by farmers, landowners and volunteers, had been found in unusual circumstances which suggested that they may have been killed by a big cat. 

Dr Hemmings studied the bones in order to figure out which animals had eaten them, and in a quarter of his samples found that the 'tooth pit' markings made by canine teeth had been inflicted by an animal larger than those living in the British countryside, such as badgers and foxes.

 

Dogs' teeth can leave behind similar markings, so Dr Hemmings also examined the bones to look for markings made by the carnassial teeth - used for cutting flesh.
These teeth are wider apart in a big cat than a dog, which would enable Dr Hemmings to eliminate dogs as being behind the attacks, according to the Daily Telegraph. 

He was unable to reach a firm conclusion in 17 of the cases, but said that in the remaining three there were clear indications to show that big cats were responsible. 
One of the bones came from a wild boar found in Gloucestershire, while the others were from sika deer discovered in Dorset.

Some believe that the animals are the descendents of large species such as panthers, leopards and lynx which were released into the wild in the 1970s after their owners were banned from keeping them as pets by the Dangerous Wild Animals act

The scientist is now hoping to uncover more evidence, including fresh carcasses which may show traces of feline DNA, before his research is publish in the Journal of Archaeological Science. 'All three are certainly wider than you would expect to find in a dog imprint', he told the Daily Telegraph.  'But we need to let the sample size build up before we have anything approaching a statistical basis.'

Dr Hemmings said that his research was not the most conclusive proof of big cats, but added to the growing weight of evidence to suggest that big cats were living in Britain.  'We are excited as we are finding some tooth pits in many of the bones that suggest the animals could have been killed by a large-sized feline, but at the moment it is impossible to tell whether they have been caused by a domestic dog or big cat,' he told local newspaper the Gloucester Citizen last month.

Big cat sightings have been a regualr feature of country life, going back decades, such as in the case of the Beast of Bodmin, said to live in Cornwall. More than 60 sightings of a large black cat have occurred in the area over the years and in 2005, a skull with large fangs and thought to be the remains of a big cat were found in the River Fowey close to the moor.

  

In 2005 a large cat scull was found in the river Fowey, on the edge of Bodmin Moor, however, it was later found to have come from a leopard-skin rug


The skull was sent to the Natural History Museum in London for verification.
They determined that it was a genuine skull from a young male leopard, but also found that the cat had not died in Britain. In fact, the skull had been imported as part of a leopard-skin rug.

Some believe that the animals are the descendents of large species such as panthers, leopards and lynx which were released into the wild in the 1970s after their owners were banned from keeping them as pets by the Dangerous Wild Animals act. 

In August, pensioners Herbert and Doreen Smith told how they had spotted a big cat, dubbed the 'Beast of Trowbridge', prowling through Murhill Woods, near Trowbridge, Wiltshire, eating its prey.

There was a flurry of reported sightings of the creature in 2009, with members of the public claiming they had seen a big cat lurking by the side of the road. In January last year DNA tests were carried out on the carcasses of three roe deer found dead at Woodchester National Park, near Stroud, in a bid to establish how they were killed.
One of the deer had its vital organs missing and had had its snout severed - the hallmarks of a panther-like kill - but the tests found no evidence of a wild cat, which many had called the Wildcat of Woodchester, being involved.

In February 2012, grainy film footage emerged online showing what appears to be a 6ft-long beast slinking across a field just three miles from Woodchester Park. Teaching assistant Coryn Memory, who lives in the area, said she had spotted the large black animal - dubbed the 'Wildcat of Woodchester', five times before shooting the video.

She said her first sighting came in July 2009, when she saw the panther-like creature crossing a field near her house in Thrupp, near Stroud. Also in February 2012, a gigantic paw print was discovered in the Mendip hills near Bristol, this size of which correlated with the paw of a big cat, according to wildlife experts, and were unlikely to be those of a fox - unless it was an extremely large one.

The Mendips have been the site of several reported big cat sightings in recent years, and savaged carcasses discovered in the West Country added weight to claims that at least one giant beast is living there. In July last year, Sir Benjamin Slade claimed a beast had been on his land and that animals had been killed at the 98-acre Maunsel House.

A major hunt for a creature nicknamed 'The Essex Lion' was underway in August 2012, when photographs of what appeared to be a lion spotted near a caravan park at Clacton were handed to police.

Police and zoo workers armed with tranquilliser guns were scrambled to hunt for the Essex Lion, only for the creature to be exposed as a domestic cat

Following reports of a wild animal on the loose, armed officers and two police helicopters using heat-seeking equipment, which cost £880 an hour to run, were scrambled. Workers from nearby Colchester Zoo carrying tranquilliser guns scoured the fields and residents were warned to stay indoors. Caravanners were temporarily moved to a nearby garden centre.

However, the creature was later revealed to be a domestic cat, named Teddy.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food  conducted an official investigation into the 'beast' and other unknown animals reported to be roaming Britain in 1995.
It concluded there was no 'verifiable evidence' of exotic felines loose in Britain.
However, it also stated that the investigation could not prove that big cats were 'not present.'

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