Locals have long speculated as to whether the so-called ‘Beast of Cumbria’ is just one or several big cats that slink in the shadows of the countryside. Investigators have now obtained a vital piece of evidence to support the presence of at least one recently active in the county.
Last year Sharon Larkin-Snowden, an experienced Cumbrian big cat investigator, came upon a sheep carcass and saw what she described as a black panther close by.
After following up many big cat reports, she has discovered that deer and sheep carcasses predated by the big felines tend to be quite clinically consumed and neatly filleted.
They did not reveal the exact location of the carcass to due trust with the landowners.
Sharon said: "The combination of seeing the cat near the carcass area, and the carcass ticking boxes for what I’d expect from a big cat’s involvement, made me even more suspicious that this was potential evidence.
“I spoke with local farmers too and they felt there had been a big cat around the area recently”. She passed three swabs to expert and producer of Big Cat Conversations podcast Rick Minter who sent the samples to a specialist lab at the University of Warwick.
The university’s School of Life Sciences centre offers a pioneering DNA analysis service utilised by many ecological consultancies, private individuals and wildlife enthusiasts.
The team, led by Professor Robin Allaby, tested the swabs and found that one indicated a panthera result, meaning it is from the genus of big cats, with two yielding fox DNA.
Professor Allaby said: "The DNA sequence is a short segment from the mitochondrion which is often used to distinguish different species of animal.
"The section we have sequenced is distinct to the group Panthera, which includes all the big cats - lions, tigers, panthers, leopards.
“There was only a very small amount of DNA present, which again is not surprising. So we need more data from more samples to pin it down to a specific species.”
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The latest evidence comes after a visit by Sky TV for Hold the Front Page with comedians Nish Kumar and Josh Widdicombe investigating big cat sightings in Cumbria.
Rick added: “It was exciting to help them out with their search for evidence and witness stories.” "We’re just frustrated we couldn’t get a positive DNA sample when they visited in September.
"But they spurred us on so when Sharon saw the big cat later in the Autumn, I felt another test might be worth it.
“This is a good example of Citizen Science at work, led by Sharon for big cats in Cumbria, along with her Facebook page on the topic.”
It’s something but you’d need a more rigorous study to produce really good evidence.