This one started off well with a great clickbait title: Big cat rumours after South West 'bloodbath' in woods https://www.devonlive.com/news/uk-world-news/big-cat-rumours-after-south-8980055
Want my assessment? Well you are going to get it anyway but first the item:
Rumours of a big cat stalking the countryside have surfaced after a walker described stumbling across a "bloodbath" in the woods. Photos showing crimson red blood on the wintry ground, messy animal remains and a lone pair of suspicious paw prints have surfaced from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire.
The dog walker has also revealed she heard "weird growling" in the area the day before. She thought it might be a wild boar with a bad cough but the noise was too intense and rumbled across the ground. Though no firm sightings have been made of a beast it is enough for some to speculate that an oversized feline is roaming free and dining out el fresco on the local wildlife.
The photographs show a gruesome scene, with various internal organs strewn across the snow-covered grass. The photographs were taken by an off-duty nurse walking her dogs in the woods behind Kensley Lodge in Cinderford.
The nurse said: "As I followed the footpath taking my usual route, I went round the corner and saw this mess. It was a bloodbath, and I really couldn’t tell whether the remains were that of a deer or a sheep. I took a couple of photos and decided to get out there quickly," reports GloucestershireLive.
Warning, the following images may be distressing to some
"The day before I was in the same area and heard weird growling noises that sounded sort of like a saw coming out of the bushes as I approached with my dogs. I thought it sounded like a wild boar with a bad cough, but I could feel the noises through the ground vibrating on my feet. We didn’t walk any closer and left immediately.”
An expert in the field has chimed in to say winter is a good time to spot a big cat.
Carl Marshall, from award-winning hit documentary Panthera Britannia Declassified, said: “As autumn gives way to winter, there are a several things which can go in our favour, as researchers looking for big cats. Ground frosts can be problematic when it comes to tracking animals, but providing things don’t get too cold, some wintry weather can be very advantageous in the field.
"For example, wet weather can help wash away old animal tracks, whilst making the soil substrate soft enough to allow for accurate imprinting of fresh ones. The loss of foliage from trees during colder months significantly reduces cover for wild animals and ambush predators that might otherwise use dense shrubs and tree canopies to hide, which may provide us with greater opportunities to view them.
“Big cats have great camouflage, but this could be further compromised in the event of snowfall, particularly for any melanistic cats – a black panther will stand out like a sore thumb in a blizzard covered landscape. And we get the same effect in this new photo, it’s the contrast in colours between the bloody paw print and the snow, which really makes it jump out.”
Rumours of big cats roaming the South West are not new. Legends of the 'Beast of Bodmin' and the 'Beast of Exmoor' have long persisted. A map shows every big cat sighting in Devon and Cornwall since 2011.
First point is that the map mentioned in the last paragraph does not show "every" sighting and a lot of those reported on do not involve a "big cat" so it is just another piece of false information.
The people involved here make me automatically say "hoax" (on someone's part). The "kill site" looks like it is staged and, certainly how the image could distress anyone -where are the intestines and pawmarks? This looks almost like someone has watched too many crime or horror movies as it looks more as though a bag(s) containing liquid (that is not blood) was used to create "slops" or concentrated areas of red and the dripping looks exactly like that or someone flicked the liquid to make it look like a blood spurt or trail.
I can see boot tracks in the snow and no pawprints -which I would have thought would be a "must" for someone seeing this. No intestines as I mentioned before and absolutely no evidence of a 'slaughter' -this would be the cleanest "big cat" kill or feeding site in the history of "big cat" kill or feeding sites.
Also note that the "snow" is not new but compacting so it was there at least a few days and, oh, I asked the Met office apparently Gloucestershire has had no snow so far so when was this supposed to be?
Another odd factor: where were the police? If you were out walking your dog and found a bloody site like this would you take photos and go home and say "Hey, I found a big cat slaughter site!" No. The police would have to be informed and involved because a lot of 'blood' in a dog walking area is something they might be interested in. Think about it and missing dog walkers in 2023 alone.
Because you made a documentary you are not a "big cat" expert.
You have to be pretty uneducated on leopards , puma and lynx to believe the garbage being spouted and this is just another example of how, since the advent of the internet that should have made REAL data gathering easier and sharing and cooperation easier, it has become a fantasy world like many other subjects. There are no lengthy interviews with witnesses, no assessment of local food, water and food resources and there is a completely made up life style for puma and leopards that bears little resemblance to fact. Several cases involving photographs and videos of 'big cats' I contacted the 'researchers' over. I identified the animal involved and showed each diagnostic feature that proved it was not feline. The negative and often rude responses (I am always professional and polite) shows just how big a "this is my hobby" the subject has become.
We had DNA from a leopard and evidence of puma back in the 1990s and no one is in doubt that the cats are here (NOT in the hundreds but far, far less) except the "big cat" enthusiasts who are fighting the 'cover up' by police and government to prove the cats are here. How uneducated on a subject can you be -well, okay, any excuse to throw on all black or cammo gear and pose by a farm gate, right?
Red The Red Paper 2022 vol. II: Felids and get an education along with genuine photo evidence.
