For many the lynx (Lynx lynx) died out during the last ice age in Britain. However, the historical evidence shows that it continued until hunted to extinction during the Medieval period.
Over recent years many have claimed that the lynx in fact survived up to the 18th century -some state it survived later than that.
In this publication naturalist Terry Hooper-Scharf assesses the evidence and points to reports and other factors not widely known to draw a definitive conclusion on the subject
Over 200 years ago, in 1810, sheep were being killed in the Ennerdale area of Cumbria.
The sheep were allegedly hardly eaten yet their blood had been drained and the killer responsible thwarted the efforts of organised hunts and terrified hounds. What was the “Girt Dog” of Ennerdale?
Many theories abound from a paranormal creature called a “Mauler” to an escaped hyena , Tiger or even a Thylacine. Perhaps an unknown species of native British big cat?
The truth of what the “Girt Dog” was lies within the original accounts of the time. Documents that modern writers appear to have never consulted. Noted British naturalist Terry Hooper-Scharf assesses the evidence.
Naturalist and author set up the Fox Study in 1976 which later became The British Fox and Canid Study which still continues work on current foxes as well as long British fox types. The Fox Deaths Project is focused on the City and county of Bristol and has been yielding unexpected information on disease, etc. Hair gathering from foxes around the UK is taking place to hopefully submit for a DNA analysis project.
Specialising in wild canids and felids, Terry has looked at existing, threatened or extant species particularly from Japan and Hong Kong and the work has been incorporated into The British Fox and Canid Study. He is also credited as observing the first raccoon dogs in Lippe in the 1970s.
In 2021 the British Canid Historical Society was set up to look at various aspects of foxes.
From 1977 until (officially) 2016 Terry was an exotic species consultant specialising in felids and advising UK police forces via the Exotic Animals Register (EAR) as part of the Partnership Againgst Wildlife crimes. During this time he contributed to various technical papers and helped University of Wales Swansea and its Exotic Cat Group which presented findings to the Eastern Cougar Foundation Conference on the evidence regarding large ‘exotic’ cats in the UK.
Papers and Books
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 2nd 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 2nd 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
9. The Red Paper: Canids (2010)
10. The Red Paper 2022: Volume 1 Canids
11. The Red Paper 2022: Volume II Felids
12. The Current Threat To UK Fauna And The Introduction Of New Fauna Species April, 2022
13. Did The Lynx Survive Until The 18th Century In The UK?May 2023
14. The Scientific Need For DNA Testing Of Old Wild Cat and Old Fox Specimens February 2024
15. The Extirpation of Wild Cats and Introduction of New Wild Cats To BritainMarch 2024
Various other unlisted papers and articles 2000-2024
Terry also applied his knowledge of the natural world to look at subjects ranging from gorillas and other primates as well as 18th -19th centuries mysterious predators in France, the UK and Ireland.
Let me make this very clear. I have seen MANY photographs of dead foxes at the roadside. This time of year they are reported almost daily. The animal in the photo (not the fake on the documentary got caught out with) is a fox. Body and head shape and ears. A FOX.,
So while this is hailed by the loony fringe as a big cat we know it is a fox.
A motorist took a picture of a suspected dead puma in Chester. (SWNS)
A motorist thinks she may have spotted a dead big cat while driving on a busy road in Chester.
Courtney Roberts, 21, was travelling on the A483 on the outskirts of the city last week when she saw the dead animal lying in a central reservation. She later shared her footage with experts and was told it was thought to be the body of a puma, otherwise commonly referred to as a ‘mountain lion’ or ‘cougar.’
Experts said the big cat, usually native to the Americas, has been sighted in the wild in Britain since the 1960s and 1970s when they were popular to keep as pets. Roberts, from Wrexham, said: "You see so many strange looking animals on the side of the road over here. I had to put my phone on record and point it down to the road, unfortunately it isn’t as clear as I’d like it to be.
"Looking at that picture it does look like a bobcat. My partner was just looking and he saw a Scottish wildcat on Google and I think it looks like one of them but …. in person you can see a spotted pattern on its coat."
She posted the photos on a Facebook group for lost pets, where it was seen by a network of nationwide big cat researchers who then picked up the case. Roberts also decided to return to the location with her partner to try to identify the animal or possibly even recover the body. However, when she went back an hour later, the animal had vanished.
Is this a puma? (SWNS) (SWNS)
Roberts added: "I’ve just gone on to the bypass with my partner and pulled over, and we stopped exactly where I saw the animal, and now there is no animal there. So I think someone has seen my post and gone to take it.
According to Canadian wildlife expert Jason Kenzie, who has worked extensively with exotic cats, the animal is most likely a juvenile puma. He said: “It looks feline, but I believe it’s too large to be a Scottish wildcat. It could be a Bobcat or Lynx, but really this has the markings of a young cougar.”
Tim Whittard, who produced a documentary about Britain’s mystery big cats called Panthera Britannia Declassified, agreed with the puma theory. He added: "This wouldn’t be the first time the body of a big cat has been seen road-killed in Britain. This is the fourth report I’m aware of in less than three months, and there are several high profile cases of similar incidents.”
DragonFly Films claims it discovered the "clearest ever" photo of a big cat prowling the British countryside. (SWNS) (Dragonfly Films / SWNS)
Big cat sightings
Last year, documentary maker Whittard and his Dragonfly Films team discovered what they claimed was the "clearest ever" photo of a big cat stalking the British countryside. The picture, which shows a large muscular panther-like creature lying in long grass, was found in the files of a zoology organisation.
Experts said if the image was genuine, it was "probably the best photo of a British big cat that exists". The photo, which is said to have been taken in Smallthorne, Staffordshire, was accompanied by a handwritten note dated 17 March – but it is unclear in which year it was taken.
A wave of "black beast" sightings were reported during the late 1990s, including famous cases in Herefordshire such as the "Woolhope Wildcat" in 1994 and numerous reports of the "Herefordshire Phantom Feline", also known as "Big Puss", from 1996 to 2000.
A photo of an alleged big cat taken in July 2016 in Gloucestershire was compared in news reports with a photo of a fox in the same location, but was later confirmed again to be the size of a domestic cat, while out-of-focus footage of an animal identified as a lynx reported in November 2016 was also found to be an ordinary cat. In May 2022, a father and son spotted a big cat as they set up a barbecue on the beach at Pwllheli on the Lyn Peninsula in northwest Wales – the second reported sighting within 12 months.
************************it's a fox ******************************
I need to make it clear that I have NOTHING to do with a group called National Exotics Rescue (former Beastwatch UK).
I do not endorse any rescue other than the two that help the Bristol Fox Lady cover the City and County of Bristol. If my name is mentioned in anyway as connected to this group please let me know.
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
Photographs depict a gruesome scene(Image: Tim Whittard / SWNS)
"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.
(Image: Tim Whittard / SWNS)
"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.
Over a period of four months, starting in May, I asked British 'big cat' groups what they had that they considered to be the best evidence of large cats in the UK and asked them to share that evidence so that it could be analysed -basically peer reviewed and confirmed or explained (if it could be).
This page would get them a lot of views of their evidence and having started working on exotic species in 1976 and being a "noted naturalist" specialising in felids as well as canids and mustelids I could offer analysis as well as forward anything to other experts to look at.
All groups, obviously, would be credited.
Not one single taker.
That speaks volumes and it is quite sad considering I have no doubt that there is more hard evidence out there and I have certainly gathered enough. Therefore, I'm interested in anyone who has real evidence and you can contact me on this blog or via the EAR Face Book page messenger). Anonymity guaranteed.
