CARL WRITES: 11/7/18 - Lye Green, Warwickshire

Read the original story here, and read Carl's response below:

"This is 100% a large tomcat.

We can be positive of this if we take a closer look at the general morphology of the animal in the video..

To begin with, the tail is far too short in proportion to body-length, the tail being approximately 60 - 100 cm long in leopards (25 - 40 in). There is no way the animal filmed by spa-goer Kate Sanderson while strolling with a friend at Ardencote Manor Hotel, Warwickshire, had a tail length of nearly 2 ft! Some leopards do have relatively shorter tails, and there can indeed be variations in the sizes of leopards, due to their distribution and available resources; for example, leopards that live in mountainous regions have typically evolved to become smaller than those that live on savannahs, mainly due to their prey being smaller. Also, female leopards are approximately 20 - 40% smaller than the males.

So, could it be argued this was a small female, variant, or a young cub? Unfortunately no! This animal's gait is completely wrong for any of the big cats, like leopards (Panthera pardus) or pumas (Puma concolor) - the two main large species suspected by researchers and journalists to stalk the UK; however, melanistic (black) pumas are not formally recognised anywhere. Usually leopards are larger in habitats where they are top of the food chain, with no competitive restriction from larger predators such as lions and tigers; though it is difficult to say how much limited genetic diversity has to play in the UK situation. 

I once interviewed an eyewitness, whom I still believe to be a very credible observer (a professional biologist), who was certain the animal he witnessed driving late one night through the Cotswold's, was approximately 15 - 25% smaller than typical African savannah leopards (P. p. pardus), he did admit however, this individual might have been a sub-adult.

Secondly, the legs of the Ardencote animal appear quite short, and too delicate for a genuine adult black leopard. Also, the fur on the tail seems too long at certain times in the (admittedly, highly distorted) video footage.

Thirdly, there are a few times in the video where the animal in question walks reasonably close to some easily identifiable flora, such as the young silver birch trees at the beginning of the video (Betula pendula), and the long unkempt bushes at the very end, which I believe reveal the proportions of the animal skulking by - which I would estimate to be approximately 25 cm tall (9.8 in) to the shoulder, body-length about 45 cm (17.7 in), and a reasonably long tail length of roughly 30 cm (12 in).

 Everything about the Ardencote video cries out large domestic tomcat! There is absolutely nothing to suggest this is anything other than the Groundsman's 'very well fed...feral friend'."