NEIL ARNOLD: Big Cat Evidence

I find it rather strange that numerous publications dealing with 'big cat' stories seem reliant on blurry images of alleged 'big cats' rather than actual evidence to support their existence. It's interesting to note the lack evidence that came forward when the Surrey puma flap took place in the 1960s, and even when the 'beast of Exmoor' hit the headlines in the '80s, only a few sheep carcasses - most of which were the work of dogs and then scavengers - were put forward as evidence. When we had the snowfall earlier this year, a woman, based in Ashford in Kent reported she'd found a set of huge paw prints running up her garden towards her back door. Her domestic cat had begun to behave very strangely too.

Now, these are the sort of things you read about time and time again in newspaper reports - often the paw prints are indistinct, and the stories overblown. Rarely do newspapers focus on the solid evidence such as rasped animal carcasses, scat and the more obscure evidence such as hair etc. The Ashford woman thought nothing of the paw prints until shortly afterwards she found something very unusual on her doorstep. A huge six-inch long whisker. The whisker, which has come from a leopard, was sent to me, and the image can be seen. The whisker, which was broken off, is not the sort of thing people find in the countryside when looking for 'big cats'. However, when found, it stands up as excellent evidence. Naturalist Jon McGowan confirmed my suspicions that the whisker had come from a large cat - the colouration, showing an almost two-tone shade, the tapering shape, and the almost bone-like feel to it, as well as the length highlight the fact this is not the sort of whisker left by a domestic cat or dog.

There is so much evidence in the countryside, people must be walking by it all the time without realising. Mind you, in some cases people even step on it! Attached is an image of some leopard scat - which someone had trod on, found in the last week, this is the sort of thing people should be looking for. The scat is often entirely full of deer fur. The deer, sheep and fox carcasses are mounting up too. In one stretch of woodland a contact of mine has found several fox and deer carcasses, some fresh, some older where a black leopard has been seen. A trigger camera has been set up but I'm not holding my breath. Cats are notoriously shy animals, fully aware of a location where there's been human activity. A goat has also recently been found completely stripped in the Dartford area. I'd take this sort of evidence any time over a blurry image