When considering British wildlife with four legs, the initial animal that may come to mind is not typically a black leopard.

However, Sharon Larkin-Snowden firmly believes she has witnessed the creature roaming the Cumbrian landscape in recent months. The 52-year-old, who works part-time in construction, first heard about reported sightings of the “Beast of Cumbria” in November after farmers noticed strange occurrences on their property. It wasn’t until later that month that she says she personally saw the creature.

While exploring, she came across the remains of a sheep that appeared to have been killed in a way that differed from typical fox or predator attacks.

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She mentioned that it appeared to have been recently killed. She recorded a video of herself scouting the nearby vicinity in search of the cat, in case it was still present. She wanted to protect herself in case any unfortunate event occurred. She also took pictures before returning to her car. As she turned the corner, she noticed something in her peripheral vision.

At first, I believed the creature was a dog. However, after a moment, I realized it was not a dog but a large cat – specifically, a leopard. It likely heard me approaching the sheep and quickly fled.

After that, Larkin-Snowden has been monitoring the cat’s whereabouts daily, answering calls from nearby farmers who have witnessed similar sightings. She consistently shares updates on a Facebook group titled Big Cats in Cumbria, where other individuals also share their alleged sightings.

Reports of large feline animals in the United Kingdom have been ongoing for some time. The Beast of Bodmin, believed to be roaming the moors of Cornwall since the 1970s, is a well-known example. In 2022, a DNA analysis of animal hair collected from barbed wire in Gloucestershire suggested the existence of a big cat. In August 2023, a photograph supposedly capturing a big cat in Staffordshire gained widespread attention.

The renowned podcast host Rick Minter praises Larkin-Snowden’s dedication to finding non-indigenous animals roaming the British countryside. He further shares his own experiences of encountering big cats and shares updates on them through his podcast, Big Cat Conversations.

“I first saw this over 20 years ago during a trip to Cumbria,” he recalled. “In a field full of tall grass, I saw what I believed to be a labrador walking around as if it didn’t belong there. After 10 seconds, no owners appeared and the animal’s shape seemed more feline than canine.”

“It lacked a collar and did not investigate its surroundings. It deliberately walked on, resembling a cat with its elongated, tubular tail. As it disappeared behind a fold in the field, I concentrated on the last few moments, coming to the realization that it was a massive black panther. However, I desperately tried to come up with simpler explanations.”

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Minter posits that the cats found in the wild are either abandoned military mascots or illegally obtained wild animals that have been released. One popular theory suggests that, following the implementation of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act in 1976, individuals who had been keeping large cats as pets illegally released them into the wild, resulting in a wild population in the UK.

Dr. Egil Dröge from Oxford University quickly rejects the theory. “Perhaps a few were released when the 1976 law was passed, but there are definitely no free-roaming individuals currently breeding,” he stated.

He disagrees with Larkin-Snowden’s assertion that a predator is responsible for the sheep killings in Cumbria, and with the belief that large felines are roaming freely in the UK.

After viewing a photo of a sheep attacked by a predator, he remarked, “The carcass depicted in the images does not appear to have been touched by a large cat, much less one with a cub. All of the ribs are still intact, and the remains have been thoroughly picked clean, even by insects. This level of cleanliness is not typically seen in kills made by big cats.”

According to him, detecting the presence of large felines in the UK countryside would be simple, as their impact would be greater than a few sheep carcasses. He states, “If a big cat were to roam in England, one would anticipate finding groups of sheep that have been killed. A big cat in a limited area, such as a field with sheep, would result in a significant number of dead sheep in a short amount of time. This would not go unnoticed.”

A representative from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs stated that there is no reliable proof of wild big cats living in the wild, as reported to Natural England since the 1990s. An extensive investigation of sightings, such as the Beast of Bodmin case in the 1990s, revealed no evidence.

According to Professor Andrew Hemmings from the Royal Agricultural University, he does not immediately disregard the reported sightings by Larkin-Snowden and Minter. He personally believes that they may exist.

Over the past nine years, he has conducted research in this area. He stated, “At the RAU, we study bones and remains of prey animals, mainly deer, that were found in locations where there have been reported sightings of large cats in the past. We examine the spacing of tooth marks to determine the distance between the tooth pits, as well as the size of the pits themselves.”

“I have completed approximately 250 samples in the laboratory and still have around 80 remaining to be analyzed. Some of the evidence is indicating that a medium to large sized feline may be present. However, this analysis alone cannot provide a definitive answer, but it adds another piece to the puzzle.”

His investigation is currently in progress, therefore it has not yet undergone peer review or been published.

Dr. Dröge is skeptical of the assertions made by Larkin-Snowden and Minter. He questions why they are only now being discovered after 25 years of research in the area. He also asks about the previous presence of killed sheep and tracks.

Source: theguardian.com