A big cat hunter claims to be receiving reports of new sightings every week.
Image courtesty of Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr
Jonathan McGowan has been seeking to prove the existence of big cats in
Britain since 1984, when he saw what he believed was a puma.
He has been collecting what he claims is evidence and has been urging people
to report any sightings to him.
Mr McGowan, from Bournemouth, said he was now being contacted on a weekly
basis.
"Every week I get reports, some of which are cats seen by multiple
witnesses, or cats seen by several people in different vehicles, for
example, in a traffic jam," he
told the BBC.
"It is good just to speak to the witnesses just to relax them and let
them know that they are not unique, they are not mad."
The existence of big cats in the British countryside has been debated for
decades.
Most of the alleged sightings have come since the Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976 made it illegal to keep untamed pets. Some said this led to owners of exotic cats, such as pumas or lynx, simply freeing their animals into the countryside.
Although the sightings are often dismissed as hoax and fantasy McGowan is convinced of their existence and has been collecting what he claims is evidence for 12 years. During this time he has amassed a variety of fur samples, footprints and bones, which he believes have come from big cats.
He said: "People are sceptical because big cats are iconic. People think that Britain is so cold and rainy and boring that we could not have big animals like leopards and pumas here. But once you start looking for evidence it all falls into place."
Mr McGowan's claims come after scientists revealed on Thursday that a predatory Canadian lynx, more than twice the size of a domestic cat, prowled the British countryside a century ago.
They studied the animal's skeleton and skin, which had been donated to Bristol Museum at the time of its death and kept in its stores for decades, and concluded that it has been roaming fields in the south west of England in 1903 before being shot after attacking two dogs in Devon in around 1903.
Tests also found that the lynx had probably spent some time in captivity before escaping or being set free.
source
Most of the alleged sightings have come since the Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976 made it illegal to keep untamed pets. Some said this led to owners of exotic cats, such as pumas or lynx, simply freeing their animals into the countryside.
Although the sightings are often dismissed as hoax and fantasy McGowan is convinced of their existence and has been collecting what he claims is evidence for 12 years. During this time he has amassed a variety of fur samples, footprints and bones, which he believes have come from big cats.
He said: "People are sceptical because big cats are iconic. People think that Britain is so cold and rainy and boring that we could not have big animals like leopards and pumas here. But once you start looking for evidence it all falls into place."
Mr McGowan's claims come after scientists revealed on Thursday that a predatory Canadian lynx, more than twice the size of a domestic cat, prowled the British countryside a century ago.
They studied the animal's skeleton and skin, which had been donated to Bristol Museum at the time of its death and kept in its stores for decades, and concluded that it has been roaming fields in the south west of England in 1903 before being shot after attacking two dogs in Devon in around 1903.
Tests also found that the lynx had probably spent some time in captivity before escaping or being set free.
source
