For as long as I can
remember Id always been interested in the stories about big cats being
out there, it wasn't until getting the internet a few years ago that I
was able to look at the subject in more detail
and found it all completely fascinating. I tried to join several big cat
groups but never got any response back from them, I found Merrily
Harpur on Facebook who I knew had written a couple of books on the
subject and asked if she could recommend any groups
which had more up-to date information and who answered emails. I joined
Big Cats In Britain and became an active member until it closed down in
2013, where upon I set up a new group- British big cat research with Ian
Foster and Paulo Nicolaides.
Q2-WHAT IS TH AIMS OF YOUR RESEARCH?
The aim of BBCR is to
continue to be a community where researchers and enthusiasts from
all over the country can come together to discuss and collate all
aspects of the British big cat situation, including latest
sightings and new ways of collecting evidence. We follow up all
sightings of suspected big cats wherever possible and are always happy
to speak to anyone wanting to learn more or that has had an experience
with these cats themselves.
Q3-BIG CATS IN GREAT BRITAIN HAVE YOU AN OPINION OR EVIDENCE?
I most certainly believe
we have large cats out there. Whether there are enough numbers out
there to sustain a viable breeding population is another question
though.
Over the past few decades plenty of evidence has been gathered and verified, bodies of lynx have turned up- a live one was even captured in a garden in London! a puma was captured in Scotland- various stories of where the puma actually came from abound, but, nonetheless it was still wild in the Scottish countryside for a time. Smaller exotic cats too have turned up as unfortunate fatalities - jungle cats ran over and leopard cats shot. Escaped large cats from zoo's in the past have managed to evade capture for many months, and even in their native countries bodies of melanistic leopards remain extremely scarce on the ground, with only two -possibly three incidents being documented.
All this information is out there in the public domain and available for anyone to view. A great book for anyone wanting to learn more is, Rick Minter's- Big Cats: Facing Britain's Wild Predators.
Q4-HAVE YOU ANY FUTURE PLANS OR PROJECTS WITH BIG CATS?
Yes, due to the positive reaction to last years Dorset Big Cat Weekend another will be held this year in September- it is hoped it will become a yearly event on the calendar of all serious and active researchers. If anyone would like more details please feel free to contact me on englishbigcatresearch@gmail.com
Over the past few decades plenty of evidence has been gathered and verified, bodies of lynx have turned up- a live one was even captured in a garden in London! a puma was captured in Scotland- various stories of where the puma actually came from abound, but, nonetheless it was still wild in the Scottish countryside for a time. Smaller exotic cats too have turned up as unfortunate fatalities - jungle cats ran over and leopard cats shot. Escaped large cats from zoo's in the past have managed to evade capture for many months, and even in their native countries bodies of melanistic leopards remain extremely scarce on the ground, with only two -possibly three incidents being documented.
All this information is out there in the public domain and available for anyone to view. A great book for anyone wanting to learn more is, Rick Minter's- Big Cats: Facing Britain's Wild Predators.
Q4-HAVE YOU ANY FUTURE PLANS OR PROJECTS WITH BIG CATS?
Yes, due to the positive reaction to last years Dorset Big Cat Weekend another will be held this year in September- it is hoped it will become a yearly event on the calendar of all serious and active researchers. If anyone would like more details please feel free to contact me on englishbigcatresearch@gmail.com
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