Big cat sightings on the increase

Last updated at 14:55 20 April 2004


There is "little doubt" that big cats such as leopards, lynxes and pumas are roaming the countryside, with sightings on the increase in recent months, experts said today.

The south west of England is the nation's big cat hotspot, with 21% of the 2,052 sightings reported between January 2003 and March 2004.

The British Big Cats Society (BBCS) called on ministers to back a full UK-wide scientific investigation into sightings of big or exotic cats in rural Britain.

The BBCS's 15-month survey recorded an average of four sightings a day in the UK.

The study unearthed video and photographic evidence, plaster casts of paw prints and reports of attacks on horses and sheep.

The society said the evidence showed there was "little doubt that big cats are roaming Britain".

The study is set to re-ignite debate about the so-called Beast of Bodmin Moor and similar sightings of big cat-like animals across rural Britain.

There were 96 reported observations of big cats in Cornwall during the survey period, 100 in Devon and 69 in Somerset, the BBCS said.

Local farmers have claimed that they lost sheep to a large animal roaming Bodmin Moor and in 1998 video footage was released showing what appeared to be a black animal resembling a wild cat.

But a Government report in 1995 found no evidence of a big cat population on the moor.

The society's founder Danny Bamping said: "The evidence has been growing and is increasingly clear.

"We are now going to approach the proper authorities to ask for their support in undertaking a properly-funded scientific study on the big cats in Britain.

"We'd like to focus on the South West because this is the most active area."

The survey recorded 231 reported sightings in Scotland, 141 in Kent, 127 in Yorkshire and 102 in Wales.

But observations were not limited to rural areas, with seven recorded sightings of big cat activity in London during the period.

  • The society's website, where sightings can be reported, is www.britishbigcats.org

    • Most watched News videos