British "Big Cats" - My Background of 40+ Years

A little background seems to be necessary.

I started looking at reports of "big cats" in the UK in 1977. In was a young naturalist and I thought I would earn some good points reputation-wise when I prove it all a hoax. By 1978 I had spoken to naturalists, zoologists and many otherpeople who were credible and 95% of all sightings were at a distance of 10 feet (3m) to 200 yards under good lighting conditions. 

I saw the tracks and I realised that the obbservers were not all loopy or seeing things. In the decades since the evidence has grown and that includes DNA, scat analysis and much more. In 1977/1978 at the suggestion of a zoologist I took on the role of acting as an exotic animals advisor to UK police forces from Scotland to Northern Ireland, England and Wales.

I have contributed to technical papers:

1. A Method For Grading Sightings Of Non-Native Cats: Application to South and West Wales, UK: Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register.

Proceedings of the 2^nd Eastern Cougar Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2004  

 

2. Exotic Cats In Britain: An Historical Perspective, Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register, Proceedings of the 2^nd Eastern Cougar Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2004  

 

3. (Contributor) Survey effort and Sighting Probabilities for Non-Native Cats in Carmarthenshire, Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea, Swansea Geographer 2004  vol. 39

 

4. The Biography of Perceived Encounters with Pumas and Other Exotic Cats in South and West Wales, UK; Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register. 2004

 

5. Felids: Wildcats, Ferals and Hybrids, Terry Hooper-Scharf. Vale Wildlife Group, 2000

 

6. UK National Wolverine Population and Evidence, Terry Hooper-Scharf, Vale Wildlife Group, November 2000

 

7. The Red Paper: Foxes, Fox-Domestic Dog, Hybrids, Arctic Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Coyotes: An Extensive Study of Vulpes vulpes in the United Kingdom and Releases/Escapes of Non-Native Canids; Terry Hooper-Scharf.  Black Tower Books, 2011

 

8. The “Girt Dog” of Ennerdale: Hyena, Thylacine or Escaped Exotic Cat: A Naturalist’s Assessment of the Evidence. Terry Hooper-Scharf. Black Tower Books, 2018

 

Various other unlisted papers and articles 2000-2021.  I have cooperate with the National Farmers Union, Newquay Zoo, Swansea and other universities. farming colleges, veterinary schools as well as many others.

This work -including that to advise police forces- was all for free. Never one penny was paid out by anyone but myself. I attempted to avoid publicity as much as possible but even so guested on national, regional and local radio as well as in the newspapers (which called me in 1996: "Britain's Big Cat Detective" despite my protests).I have also contributed to publications on European wildcats and advised German police in "big cat" sightings as well as on wolves.

In over 4 decades I have studied kills put down to big cats as well as habits and habitats across the UK. Most of my contemporaries are now gone which makes me the most experienced naturalists dealing with the subject in the UK. A few newer people have appeared and most of them base their knowledge on the old EAR Bulletins and often misquote or deliberately get facts wrong.

Two things to note:

1) in over 40 years not one witness/observer has ever been named unless they have given out their name. Confidentiality of witnesses and maintaining that  is of great importance.

2) unlike some newer "Big Cat" people who really do not know the cats involved and hide their connections with hunting groups or persons out to kill the first "British Big Cat", I maintain absolute secrecy on locations and cat movements. This is to protect the witness, the animal involved as well as other animals as "hunters" have in the past shot sheep and other farm/domestic animals as "big cat"

The UK National CarnivoreAdvisory was set up to cover everything from foxes, badgers as well as introduced animals -canid or felid or even mustelid. It is the focal point for coordinating the British Fox Study (set up in 1976) and the EAR -for both there are public Face Book pages.

I can be personal message via the Face Book groupsor through email at blacktowercg@hotmail.com  in the strictest confidentiality.

The above is a very -VERY- brief piece of background information to reassure anyone who might have concerns that they need not worry.