How to sex a Slow Worm (what I'm sure you've always wanted to do!)

That rusty sheet of metal is looking at you… Could it have a lizard under it? Maybe even a snake? Unable to hold yourself back anymore you go over and lift it up, the plants growing at its edges bow backward, and underneath scores of tiny invertebrate’s squirm away into the damp mud. Then you spot

A handsome male Slow Worm emerging from hibernation

in mid-March.

it! That sleek, glistening body belonging to none other than the humble Slow Worm.

A male (right) and a female (left) basking together 

beneath a sheet of old metal.

Finding one of these beauties is like finding buried treasure, and these legless lizards are beautiful as they are scaly. Whenever you find one lounging under a stray piece of metal, you’ll get a little rush, something I’ve felt countless times, I think it’s just because they’re so different compared to things like birds. And (one of) the great things about Slow Worms is they don’t mind living with humans. This probably has something to do with the fact they spend most of their time underground, where they don’t really see or have to tolerate many of us. Either way, especially if you live near the South Coast, chances are there are some right on your doorstep.

Go on! Give it a lift, never know what could

be underneath it.

The main reason you don’t see them often is that even when not underground Slow Worms aren’t keen on basking in the open, preferring instead to do so under refuges. While corrugated iron is a favorite, any sheet of metal, rubber, and even wood could be concealing one, or several of these gorgeous creatures. But once you’ve found one, held it, put it back and done this again and again it can sometimes get a bit repetitive. So why not take a closer look at them? Because, every colour, pattern, and marking tell you a whole host of information about the animal.

In this blog post, I’ve noted down the markings and signs to look for that tell you the gender of that polished little lizard in front of you. And remember, just like it says in all the textbooks “they aren’t snakes, they’re legless lizards”.

Characteristics of a male Slow Worm:

The most immediately obvious sign to look for is the colour of the Slow Worm. While occasionally difficult to distinguish gender based on this, the males are always a beige/tan to a sickly grey colour all over the body, which is relatively pale. If you (CAREFULLY) pick up the Slow Worm, you can also look underneath at the colour of its belly. If it’s a male it’ll have a beautiful gray one with a silver sheen,

My home patch of grassland and scrub 

conceals not only Slow Worms but 

Common Lizards too.

sometimes looking icy blue, but again they’re always quite pale.

Looking at the colour of their bellies is (in my opinion) the easiest way of separating the males from the females, but a little tip: when you pick them up do not lift them above your head. This is something I’ve made the mistake of doing and there’re a couple of reasons why you should just tip them on their side instead. One, when you hold it above your head you have to hold it at a bit of an awkward angle, so if the Slow Worm decides to wriggle around you won’t have a great grip to keep a hold of it. When this happened to me, I fell over backwards and probably could’ve dropped and crushed the little thing if I

By far the largest Slow Worm I've ever found. He was a good

35cm long, although they can grow longer than 40cm!

hadn’t held on to him. (He seemed completely fine and slithered off afterward don’t worry.)  

The second reason is that when scared, one method Slow Worms use to try and shake off a predator is to excrete something called a musk. Basically, it’s a bit like on-demand explosive diarrhea. And by holding one up above your face you’re practically advertising it as a target.

With that out of the way, back to other signs to look out for. As I mentioned earlier, there are many different variants and mutations in the colour of Slow Worms, and one of these only occur in males. Normally the backs of the males will just be smooth, without any markings, but some you’ll find have conspicuous blue spots lining them. And from what I’ve read, these are exclusive to males, so it’s an immediate giveaway and is surprisingly common too. 

Slow Worms are unlike many other species in that both genders grow to be the same size, and the only

real size difference is in their heads. In order to fight off predators and rival males, the heads of the males are visibly wider than the females. This is clearest when you look at where the jaw connects to the skull, and you’ll see defined bulges in some individuals (the males) but not others. Looking from above, this gives the
males a distinct “neck”, where the body tapers inwards behind the head.

Characteristics of a female Slow Worm

Unlike the males, the females lack this "neck", having much slimmer heads, although it takes a bit of practice to get your eye in and be able to notice this.

The colour of the females clashes a bit with the males' though being anywhere from a warm gold to a dark copper on top, with the males also often being gold. Normally though the females will be a warmer tone, and the males won't shine as much. Regardless of what colour they are on top, their flanks will always be contrastingly darker, anywhere from a chestnut brown to black, compared to the males which

The black belly of a female-this one

was sadly dead. Likely killed by a cat

because it was in a very built-up area.

are a uniform colour on their top and flanks. 

If you're lucky enough to look at the underside without getting jettisoned in the face by musk, you'll see it is also very dark, usually jet black, which couldn't be more different from the pale silver gray of a male. 

And finally, the markings on females. Though lacking the males' vibrant blue spots, they do have their own unique markings, often sporting a thin black dorsal line, absent in males. Although juvenile Slow Worms have these too, they're clearer; the adults will be obviously larger, and the juveniles will have a little black face. Like with blue spots in males, only some females have a stripe, so rely more on the colour of the belly and the flanks. Are they much darker than the colour on top? Then you've got yourself a female.

I really hope this helps you next time you want to sex a Slow Worm but aren't sue what to look for (an extremely common problem in today's society). 

Walruses in Britain and Ireland

Beautiful Walrus, photo courtesy of photographer 

@leenpictures on Instagram.

Flabby, orange and sporting the mustache of an old man, Walruses are instantly recognizable (and not only for their fabulous facial hair) but also for their tusks, making them stand out amongst the other pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses). These gigantic biological weapons are used by the males in combat, during which they rear their heads and stab

A brutal fight between two leviathans among Walr uses.

fanatically at each other, the fights often resulting in fatalities. They’re also used in foraging, but when it comes to eating they're somewhat gentle giants: they stir up the mud on the seafloor to uncover any little worms, molluscs and anything else they can find there, which they quickly gobble up. Having said that, they do occasionally eat carrion (already dead animals) such as beached whales carcasses and have been known to slaughter seals when needs must, being powerful and agile underwater, (though cumbersome and ungainly on dry land).


Preferring the frozen world of the arctic, it might come as a bit of a surprise when you discover that these magnificent creatures have been seen several times in the UK and Ireland, and not just the remote, northern islands of Scotland either, but have incredibly come as far South as Norfolk and the south coast of Ireland.  

Harbour Seals, relatives to the Walrus and a more 

normal sight to see-photo taken by Jacob Tancock.

Admittedly, the bulk of sightings do occur further up North, the Shetland Islands boasting a whopping number of them, with Orkney also having seen its fair share. One Walrus discovered lounging on the island of Ronaldsay seemed to have a particularly strong liking the group of islands, happily swimming around in their shallow waters, foraging for food, before then deciding to do a tour of the Scottish Highlands. He swam along the entire North Coast of Scotland, popping up every now and then to sunbathe on secluded coves and bask in the limelight and snapping cameras of onlookers. Eventually though, satisfied he’d spent enough time there, he disappeared for good, traveling back to his freezing world up North. But not before fondly being dubbed ‘Wally’ and stealing the front page of several national newspapers.

A close up photo of Wally, in all his glory!

Seeing a Walrus outside of the Arctic in itself is incredibly rare, let alone seeing one in UK waters, but despite this, Walruses have been seen much further South than North Scotland, such as one found decades ago on the isle of Arran, a small island situated off the South West coast of Scotland. The most Southerly sighting in the UK however, was much further south, remarkably, in the River Ouse in Norfolk.

The first attempt to catch the Walrus-people 

watching said it was "actually quite

comical". 

Unlike Wally, this individual was a juvenile, disorientated and confused, thought to have still been finding its feet and taken a wrong turn, ending up swimming down the increasingly narrow River Ouse. It was first discovered by two fishermen, who noticed a hulking shape trailing their boat through the water, but just about the last thing they were expecting it to be was a Walrus. Within hours, their entire village knew about it and members of WWF, RSPCA, and other wildlife organizations were being called to the river. Following some debating, they decided it would be best to take the young Walrus back to the mouth of the river and release it into the open

The River Ouse has also been subject to several seals

over the years-this one was photographed by 

Fletcher Telling.

ocean. Easier said than done.


After disappearing for a bit, the Walrus was found again, comfortably nestled among some reeds on the riverbank, sunbathing. This was it-the perfect chance to catch it, and slowly a crowd began assembling, large nets and ropes passed around. Carefully everyone took up their positions, cautious not to disturb it. Then they launched into action. Flailing their nets and ropes around wildly, everyone jumped down the riverbank, frantically attempting to get a hold on the Walrus. But not a single person managed to, and the Walrus just rolled over back into the river, a few determined locals wading through the water after it, before realizing how pointless it was.

The juvenile Walrus-curled up among the reedbeds.

After three more days of being at large in the river, and a national charity set up to raise money for it to be airlifted back to the arctic, the Walrus was finally caught, and begrudgingly allowed itself to be carried back up North to the Arctic.

Cumbersome on land, Walruses are in their element

underwater, swimming gracefully on their powerful

flippers and tail.

Even this wasn’t the most Southerly Walrus sighting in our local seas though, with that being recorded in Ireland, the West coast of which has been littered with sightings over the last few decades. The most Southerly of these, (and the most Southerly one in the UK) in the county of Cork, right on the South coast. Spotted swimming close to the shore and described as a “hairy ginger cow-sized animal” it wasn’t hard to figure out what it was, and soon a crowd of local wildlife enthusiasts had flocked down there to find the mighty creature. After some searching, it was found stretched out on a beach, sunbathing, (as per usual) and despite everyone’s hopes that it might go back into the water for another swim, it just contently lay there nearly motionless for six hours, sluggishly dragging itself away at night when the tide came in.


Why are they coming this far south?

With no means of escape, tragically Walruses

are easy to kill for any illegal hunts. 

As is the case with many things, there isn't one explanation to answer this, but there’re many combined reasons, and many sightings have their own unique explanations. For example, the reason the juvenile Walrus turned up in the Ouse River is that it was inexperienced with navigating its way around, and had turned up there completely by accident. While Wally the Walrus in the Orkney Isles is thought to have been confused by the infamous Beast From The East.

Many of the other sightings, however, involved Walruses that were mature and perfectly health; not showing any signs of being disorientated. In some of these cases, it’s actually thought that they might’ve come to the UK on purpose. The reasoning behind this is that when a Walrus wants some “alone time” away from the rest of the family group they’ll regularly swim to new, distant locations, just so long as there’s food and a quiet spot to haul out on. So, when some went in search of somewhere new to go to 

With no ice to haul onto, Walruses are forced to climb on any land they can get to-when this

photo was taken this Walrus only had moments left to live, falling off a clifftop it had been

forced on to since there wasn't any ice. 

, and saw a quiet, rocky UK or Irish cove, they decided to temporarily make it their home and spend some time there.


As always though, Climate Change also played a part, causing a whole host of different reasons. Not only is the weather becoming increasingly unpredictable, messing with their instincts, but the ice they desperately need to haul out on (especially if they’ve got babies) is becoming dangerously scarce, melting from Global Warming. This forces them to haul out on whatever landform they can find. 

Even if this is much further away from where they’d prefer to, or if hauling on top of it could cost them their lives. This was one of the tragedies filmed in one of David Attenborough's documentaries Seven Worlds One Planet, where they were filmed climbing a rocky cliff, since all the ice had melted, hundreds of them losing their lives from falling off it.

Sadly, this is just one of the problems they're now facing, with thousands being illegally hunted every year, as they’re too slow to get away quick enough on land. They’re also struck by boats, killed more frequently by starving Polar Bears, unable to catch their normal seal prey. It is such a shame to see such a magnificent animal killed in such large numbers by humans-it seems we’re the recurring denominator of most problems nature is coming up against. I just hope we can turn it around in time.

First White Stork Chicks in the UK since 1416

While it doesn’t boast Ostriches, Black Vultures, or Royal Albatrosses, the UK is no stranger to large birds, and now plays host to the third-largest eagle in the World, a resident population of Cranes, and now increasingly, White Storks.

A White-Tailed Fish Eagle, the third biggest eagle on the planet, which've now

made their home in Scotland, parts of Northern England and even the Isle 

Of Wight.

They’re flawless-looking birds, covered in pristine white and black feathers and donning a bright red bill and pair of legs. Standing at up to 125cm tall though, you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of one if you were a fish, toad, or any little ground-living animal. That’s because they’ve got quite a unique method to hunt their prey. Using their powerful legs, they plunge their feet into the ground, kicking whatever they can get their claws on into the air, where they catch it, then crush it in their beaks and devour it. Clearly, the perfect candidate to carry new-born babies through the air.

The belief that storks deliver babies to people is actually based on some facts, such as the tight bonds formed between parents and their chicks, which sometimes return to their parents to look after them when they get older. But one of the reasons they’re depicted carrying specifically human babies is also one of the reasons they originally went extinct in the UK: their love of nesting on the tops of chimneys. Raising their young so close to humans has prompted many beliefs that they bring luck and are a sign of fertility, with lots of people welcoming them.

A beautiful photo of a White Stork by accomplished photographer: Ronald Pol.

Instagram: @Ronaldpolphotography

Sadly, this can’t be said for everyone, which is understandable, since a Storks’ nests can weigh over a ton, and can cause entire chimneys to collapse, which initially led to lots of hate and persecution towards them. This, combined with hunting and habitat loss, meant they were quickly exterminated in the UK, with the last breeding pair nesting in 1416, leaving a niche in the ecosystem-wide open, until now.

Personally, I'd love a pair of White Storks nesting on my

chimney, but you can see why it can cause problems.

Slowly but surely, over the last few decades, they’ve started to make a comeback, with an increased number of migrants coming to the UK to investigate possible nesting sites. Between 1958 and 2014, an incredible >1,000 birds have been sighted, not bad considering they were mercilessly persecuted. The ultimate success though is when a pair nest in the UK, which albeit is extremely rare, it has been happening more often, with only three nests being made from 1416 to 2014, while in 2020 (so far), three nests have already been made on just one estate. But on the 15^th of May, something which conservationists have previously only dreamed about happened: finally, after six hundred and four years, White Stork chicks hatched!

Several times before, eggs have been laid, but despite everyone having their fingers crossed for the birds, none of them ever hatched before, making this a historic moment in conservation. It wasn’t just one chick that hatched either, but a whopping six baby Storks, three in two different nests, both on the wildlife loved Knepp Estate in West Sussex. Sadly, it has certainly not been smooth sailing for the four parents, with one pair managing to successfully make a nest and lay a clutch of eggs on the exact same estate last year, only for them to tragically never hatch.

This was evidently still on people’s minds when they were observed incubating the eggs this year, with some dreading that history would repeat itself and the chicks would die before hatching. But following some keen observations from people, the promising sign of the adults regurgitating food into the nest could only mean one thing: chicks.

One of the two nests.

While it is highly unlikely that all the Storks will survive, as only 30% of all birds survive their first year, hopefully, some of them will fledge (this normally happens about 2 months after birth) and live on to see Britain become full of these

The promising (although a bit blurry) flash of

grey feathers from Stork chicks. 

unique birds once again.

The White Stork Project:

Just like many freshwater invertebrates, White Storks are thought to be an indicator of a healthy ecosystem, and fill a unique niche in it, making them a valuable species. Realizing this, conservation charities like the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust created the White Stork Project, with the goal of establishing 50 breeding pairs of White Storks in South England by 2030.

How the White Storks are being re-introduced:

Lucy Groves, the projects officer, laid out the three ‘phases’ that are/have be taken to get White Storks back into the

The luxurious enclosure with the Storks in.

British countryside for good, and these were:

Phase 1: Creating a ‘static population’

To create a static population, a large, open-aired enclosure had to be constructed, made up of a mosaic of different

A Stork gulping down a Water Vole.

habitats, from woodland to wetland, and all-enclosed in a ring of predator-proof fencing. When it came to stocking the enclosure with birds, rescued and rehabilitated Storks from Poland were used, as the injuries they’d previously suffered meant they wouldn’t be able to fly again.

This first step was important for many reasons, one significant one being the hope that it might attract any wild White Storks passing by, and lo and behold, two months later a pair of wild migrants joined the flock.

Phase 2: Creating a resident free-flying population

Normally in the wild, White Storks migrate south to places like Africa to avoid the cooler weather, but to start a resident population, a group of then captive Storks were held back two years, even during Winter. After the two years were up,

This Pool Frog needs to watch out-he's on the menu for roaming White Storks-

another great photo taken by Ronald pol.

they were released, but now saw the area they were kept back as their home, so were unlikely to venture too far.

By creating a resident population, it ensures that the birds can be monitored year-round for health problems, etc. and also means they’ll stay and (hopefully) successfully breed in the UK.

Phase 3: Creating a migratory population

The final goal is to have birds that naturally migrate to Africa or other southerly areas during Winter but migrate back up to the UK for Summer since this is natural. This could also attract other birds in the Southern migration destinations to travel back to the UK together, and continue to boost the population.

You can read more about the chicks here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-52675922


Link to a video by the White Stork Project's officer about the three phases:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n15aPsN0iA

How to track down a badger sett

Arguably the most charismatic British mammal, the Eurasian badger (Latin name: Meles Meles) is the tank among our mammal species. Able to climb, swim, and sprint at up to 45mph, they’re brilliantly adapted for any situation. Strictly omnivorous, over 50% of a badger’s diet (much more according to some people) is exclusively made up of Earthworms, although they will eat pretty much anything. From fruit, nuts, and leaves to toads, bees’ nests; even hedgehogs and rabbits are hunted down and killed.

Two badgers caught on a camera trap, the secret weapon of any mammal

watcher.

However, owing to their nocturnal habits and secretive nature, they’re often hard to see in the flesh, more often found dead at the side of the road. Luckily for us though, they leave signs of their presence everywhere and this blog post will be a basic guide about how to find these elusive animals because they’re probably a lot closer to you than you think…

Where to start looking?

Being such adaptable animals, badgers readily colonize a range of habitats, including forests, uplands, meadows, and increasingly urban gardens. Their preferred habitat though is deciduous woodland (a woodland that annually sheds its leaves), with a nearby open green space (e.g. arable fields) which is where they’ll forage for earthworms. Having said that, they’re not that picky, and anywhere 
where woodland (or any form of cover) meets open land is the best place to start looking.

First, go directly to where the woodland meets the open area, as this is normally where they’ll prefer to build the bulk of their sett. Look into the trees, for large ‘ant hills’: piles of often sandy-colored earth that have been excavated, known as spoil. They can stand out and be quite large if part of an active sett too.

Make sure to try and be as thorough as possible, walk around as much of the border as you can, scan the trees and scrub for those little humps, it does work too, as the first sett I found was only because I noticed a little pile of sandy earth in some bushes and decided to investigate.

A less-defined path made by a badger, after following this it lead me straight to

the sett. Also, note it's an almost perfect habitat.

Signs further away from the sett:

Entrance to a badger sett-badger setts have a D

shaped entrance as shown here.

If you’ve had no luck, then it’s time to zoom out and look for signs that can be found further away from the sett. The first of these is a path or run. Being such low-slung and hairy animals, badgers are a bit like the brooms of the forest, and once they’ve walked along a certain route a few times, they wear away the vegetation and some of the ground. These paths can be quite long, although they are much more obvious closer to the sett, where they’re used a lot more.

The most obvious are completely devoid of any vegetation and usually have the top layer of the earth too, exposing the lighter soil underneath. But lookout for the less-used ones too, where the vegetation has been parted. Generally, badger runs are about 30cm wide 
(from my experience) and roughly 30-40cm tall if it's been made through thick vegetation.

This can help separate them from paths made from other animals like deer and foxes, which are often a lot less defined, and much narrower (especially with foxes). Another way to find out is to follow it, especially if it leads into a woodland, as deer ones often stop once they reach cover, but badger ones should end at a sett. Don’t stress out over this too much though, as they’ll often share paths and there are much more reliable signs to look for.

Another path parallel to a sett in the bushes behind

it.

One of these are tracks, as badgers can travel over 22km foraging in just one night, so it’s a good indicator far away from the sett. Their tracks are medium-sized, with a broad, stout interdigital (middle) pad and long claw marks are often seen. The main way to tell them apart from something like a fox or a cat though is to look at the toes: badgers are the only ones to have five toes, everything else will have four or less (unless it has some sort of mutation but it’ll still look different).

Another sign that can be found quite far from the sett, although not always the most reliable, are the marks left from where the badgers have been foraging. Because so much of their diet is made up of earthworms, they do a lot of digging around, leaving very messy areas 
of turned over mud and roots, but sometimes they can be quite distinctive.

Remember, FIVE toes, no more, no

less.

Unlike rabbits and foxes, when badgers dig, they’ll normally make quite a round conical hole, matching the shape of their nose, whereas rabbits and foxes normally leave a rectangular hole, but this isn’t consistent.

The badger who did this scat had clearly eaten

a lot of worms.

Sometimes accompanying these are latrines. A warning to other roaming badgers and predators that they’re stepping into someone else’s land, they’re frequently made at the border of a badger clan’s territory, sometimes quite a distance from their setts. Being very hygienic, badgers will create a little hole beforehand, and from looking at the scat itself, you can also quite easily determine what they’ve been eating. After eating a lot of worms, the scat is very runny and smooth, whereas if they’ve been eating something like beetles it’ll be dark, and any remains like exoskeletons should be quite obvious.

Getting closer…

The closer you get to a badger sett, the more of these signs you’ll start to see, and the more concentrated they’ll get. One of these signs is badger fur, which can be found a little way away from the sett, but a lot of the time it’ll be within a few hundred meters if not closer.

A classic little foraging sign made

by a badger-note the shape of it

and how it matches the shape

of a badger's nose. 

Some typical fur from a badgers back, although you

probably won't find this much on one fence.

The commonest type of fur found is the stuff from a badger’s back and sides, as they squeeze under fencing or scratch themselves on a piece of wood, and while appearing grey, each individual hair is actually black and white. Most of the time, it’s about 2/5 black in the middle, 2/5 white on one end, then on the other around 1/5 white. While some dog and cat breeds have similar looking fur, badger fur will usually be slightly bent, and if you roll it between your fingers it’ll feel very jagged and angular, but most cats and dogs will have near-cylindrical fur. It’s also more common than you might think, so be sure to check any wire fencing in the area you’re searching for badgers in.




Is the sett active or not?

Assuming you’ve found the sett, you might wonder if there are actually badgers using it, because a surprising amount of the time badger setts will be found vacated, for whatever reason. There are lots of things to look for here that tell you this, although I’ll only mention some.

 The first and probably the one that most tells you it’s inactive is how clean it is since an active badger sett will have a nice wide, open entrance, clear of any vegetation. However, if you find a badger sett with plants growing in front of it or inside it, it shows you it hasn't been used in a while.

Now, something to look for in an active badger sett is bedding. Being the germaphobes that they are, (not really, otherwise they

Some typical bedding left on the spoil infront of a 

badger sett entrance.

wouldn’t live in holes in mud) they regularly take out their old bedding (normally grass/hay) and dump it outside the sett entrance, ready to drag in some clean stuff. Look around the entrances to the sett, especially on the spoil heap in front of it, for any hay that’s been left there. There can be quite a lot sometimes too.

A nice sized badger sett entrance, notice there's

nothing obstructing it, and part of a run to the left

leading into it.

Although they are clean animals, badgers do (like all of us) smell pretty bad sometimes, and sometimes when around a sett entrance for long enough, you’ll get the old and quite musty smell of a badger. The good thing is it’s very distinctive from the smell of foxes, which smell bizarrely similar to someone smoking weed.

Badger, Fox, or Rabbit?

 Badgers, rabbits, and foxes all live in underground tunnel systems, and sometimes even share one, like one I found that had both foxes and badgers bunking together. But more often than not, they’ll have their own designated ones.

Out of the three, badgers usually have the biggest entrances, being such large animals,

Always follow the paths and you will be rewarded.

and the hole is normally shaped like a ‘D’ on its side, while fox ones are normally (not always) a bit smaller, won’t have that characteristic ‘D’ shape and won’t be as clean of plants. Outside fox earths, you’ll often also find the remains of prey they’ve killed, but outside badger setts, you’ll only find some straw.


Rabbit warrens, on the other hand, can be a similar shape and size to badger’s sett and can have a large spoil heap in front of them too. Usually, though the best way to tell if it’s the entrance to a rabbit warren is to look inside, a badger sett will stay consistently large and go straight down, whereas a rabbit warren will often get narrower straight away, or steer off to the right or left.

Hopefully, this was useful and happy badger hunting!  

Are there big cats in the UK!?

Panthers, Leopards, and Pumas? This doesn’t sound like your typical British wildlife! But shockingly, sightings, footprints, and even sheep carcasses have been emerging all across the UK, with concentrations around National Parks like Dartmoor in the South and the West. Some people have grouped these with UFOs and Werewolves, but is it really so

Could these 'big cats' just be another bigfoot?

  outlandish? Is there a possibility there are big cats roaming the shadows of Britain’s countryside?


How could leopards and panthers even get there in the first place?

The short answer is yes, there could be big cats out there, they’re highly adaptable, plus we have all the prey they’d need. But are there? While no one knows for sure, there’s a lot of potential evidence, with sightings coming from credible sources such as zookeepers, naturalists, even members of the British Army. There’re also some plausible explanations for how they could’ve got out there.


 In my opinion, the most credible is that they were released as a result of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, a law passed in 1976, stating that no one can own any dangerous animals unless under license. During the years prior, big cats were becoming increasingly fashionable, with black leopards being extremely popular with gangs, as they were used to intimidate rivals. However, many people had to substitute them for Pumas (just for the record, pumas, mountain lions, and cougars are all the same animal!) which were more common, and easier to buy and keep.


After the act was passed though, while some people sought out licenses or turned over their pets, lots were released into the wild, but it’s not known how many, since most were done secretly. Recently there have been people confessing though, like a previous animal trainer who told a newspaper about how he released his puma and black leopard into rural Devon. He also said all his friends who owned big cats had done the same, just in different locations.

A Puma, Cougar, Mountain Lion, whatever you want to call it-more

commonly owned than black panthers because of how cheap and

easy they were to keep.

There are also other theories, such as one claiming feral and domestic cats have interbred, creating large ‘mutant’ cats. Or one that suggests remnant populations have miraculously survived from thousands of years ago from when panthers naturally lived in our forests.


Howbeit, there’s not really any proof of either of these, and I can’t really get on board with either. Plus, there’re confirmed records of panthers, leopards, and puma being released into the wild after the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, but no evidence for the other theories.


Are the ones released after the Act still here though? Well in captivity, Leopards live for up to 17 years, panthers 20 and pumas up to 19. So, even if pregnant cats were released into the wild, they should've all died off by 1996 at the latest. So, if they do still exist, then the original animals would've had to have had cubs.


Unfortunately, though, there’s no recent concrete photos or videos out there showing big cats (some of you might not be surprised) mainly just fuzzy unfocussed videos, or hikers out in remote locations swearing they “know what they saw”.

Most of our 'evidence' for big cats consist of blurry

pictures on peoples phones like this one.

Where are the Cats being sighted?


These reports come from all over, from the Highlands to Hampshire, but the bulk of sightings come from the South West corner of the UK, with the Forest of Dean, Exmoor and Dartmoor being hotspots. One very concentrated areas is Bodmin Moor. It’s located in the Northeast Cornwall, and over the years has been subject to over 60 alleged sightings of a Black Leopard like cat, which has been dubbed “the beast of Bodmin Moor”. However, these peaked during the 1980s, suggesting that if there was a cat (or cats) there it probably died without breeding, meaning the recent sightings are probably hoaxes.


The Beast of Exmoor is another extremely popular case, arising from black cat sightings in Exmoor National Park, some coming from pretty reliable sources. The local police, big cat keepers at the Exmoor Zoo, and even army marksmen hired to protect locals have all apparently seen “large black pantherine cats”, telling us that if there are cats there, they’re either panthers or leopards.

A magnificent black Panther, do you think 

they'd be obvious if they were on our

small island?

However, Trevor Beer, a naturalist who after (supposedly) tracking a big cat through Exmoor from kills and footprints for weeks, caught a glimpse of what’s believed to be a puma, not a leopard. He described the encounter in his book “The Beast of Exmoor”, and field sketches show quite a short, stocky cat with a round head, reminiscent of a Puma, suggesting that there might be both Pumas and Black Leopards in Exmoor.


Without any concrete evidence in the form of actual photos though, how can we be sure if there are/aren’t large cats out there? Well luckily for us, big cats kill and eat their prey in a very distinctive way. Unlike a dog which’ll normally snap at the legs and back of its prey, most big cats will just lock their jaws around its neck, quickly suffocating and bringing them to the ground. And, it’s no surprise that over the years many sheep kills have been deemed the result of big cats.


Overall, these kills are much more reliable than sightings and dodgy videos, with zoologists, policemen and all sorts of people usually called to the scene to check it out. One remarkable incident happened several years ago in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire, where not one, two, three, four, five, or six, but seven sheep had been slaughtered overnight. Six of them had been dragged and stuffed underneath a riverbank, while one had already been partly eaten.

Another possible sighting, courtesy of

@highhedgephotography on Instagram 

They’d all been killed the same way: with one lethal bite to the neck, punctures clearly visible where the canines were. After analysis, a conclusion was made that it must’ve been the work of two animals, since on some animals the gaps between the punctures were 5cm, while on the others it was just under 4cm. This could suggest that if they were murdered by cats, one could’ve been a juvenile, with a smaller mouth than the adult it was with.

Pictures like this of supposed panthers could easily

be something like a black fox (below) a rare 

morph of the Red Fox. Or it could just

be a black dog.

As well as bite marks, one sheep even had these huge claw marks down its back, where a cat likely would’ve jumped on it and raked its claws along it to floor it. The marks were very deep, even ripping through the poor animals’ intestines. Furthermore, the seventh sheep which had been partially eaten showed signs that it was again the work of a big cat, with large patches of bone visible, completely devoid of any flesh. This could be the work of a big cat, because on their tongues, they have backward-facing barbs called Papillae, which’re used to groom their kill before they eat it to remove any ticks, fleas, etc. They’re also used to scrape any remnants of skin and flesh from the bones, ensuring nothing’s 
wasted.


There were also the classic sightings of a “large black pantherine cat” again, a few days before, although some could’ve actually been true this time.


Dead cats:


Personally, I think the most convincing evidence that has turned up has got to be the actual bodies of big cats, with ones being found or shot, surprisingly often, such as the mysterious Canadian Lynx that was shot by a hunter in South England in 1902.


The most recent example would be a case that occurred all the way up in Scotland, away from the bulk of the majority of sightings. In September 2012, John Robertson was walking his dog through a rural corner of Cullen, when he came across a clump of mauled seagull remains next to the footpath. Investigating further, (since it was strange seeing so many) he took a detour off the trail, which was when he found it: sprawled on the ground was the shrivelled up, sun-cooked corpse of a large black cat. The flesh on its face had been worn away, exposing its huge, smooth canines and the contorted splinters of bone poking through its tight black skin.

The corpse of the big cat found in Scotland-its size, teeth and skin colour all

showing that it was a juvenile animal, the adults are much larger. To give 

some scale the tail was roughly 18 inches long.

It’s thought that it was the body of a young melanistic (all-black) leopard, after DNA tests were sent off, plus several general observations. The teeth were key in this, as they were pristine compared to those of adults which are normally all grazed and worn. It’s black skin also showed it was a juvenile, since the fully matured adults don’t have this.

While people will argue that even dead bodies can be faked, it is possible for the UK to support these incredible animals. 

We’ve got an abundant food source for them in the form of deer, wild boar and livestock that have no natural predators. Easy prey for something as skilled as a leopard or panther. We’ve also got to remember that while leopards, panthers etc are called ‘big cats’ they seek out cover in the canopy or other high places and normally melt into the background of a shady woodland.

Nobody knows for sure if they’re out there though, and I think there needs to be a thorough search for them, because this could be nothing but hoaxes and public fear. Or, it could be a danger to livestock and also the public. I think we do need to be honest with ourselves too, because we all over dramatizes evidence even when it clearly looks fake, and it is crazily easy to fake sightings and pictures.


I like to believe they're out there, but what is your opinion? Could there really be big cats stalking the shadows of our forests, or could it just be another crazy myth, that should be grouped with Werewolves?