tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16505569.post6460053542084780241..comments2024-01-05T05:02:20.353+00:00Comments on CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: NEIL ARNOLD: Big Cat EvidenceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16505569.post-13426556522650098142012-02-07T14:17:45.983+00:002012-02-07T14:17:45.983+00:00I can confirm that catnip does indeed work. The ot...I can confirm that catnip does indeed work. The other problem is that alot of people are simply leaving trigger camera's out then going back home and waiting rather than being 'out there'. Evidence is abundant, I have several contacts around the south-east of England who are employing tracking techniques. I am also working with two 'big game' trackers from South Africa used to hunting leopard many years ago. Foxes often turn up stripped, and sheep and deer regularly found in trees, which isd why it's important to let the public know what signs to look for and also eliminate. I find it amazing that one deer kill can make headline news and yet people are finding this sort of stuff, as well as hair and scat all the time.Neil Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18241593955210773189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16505569.post-61867371082885341072012-02-05T23:19:34.135+00:002012-02-05T23:19:34.135+00:00As I see it, a fair amount of the problem with big...As I see it, a fair amount of the problem with big cat reporting in the UK is down to who is it being done by. Journalists and naturalists are the main reporting agencies, and serious biologists only very rarely get involved (the CFZ and its contacts being a rare exception to this).<br /><br />When dealing with a rare animal in an environment, the skills of a naturalist only go so far; they can say that it may be in the area, but that is all. A journalist's skills are worse still; they are out to sell newspapers so want sensational or interesting things to report on; Asian black leopards merit only minor interest.<br /><br />What is needed is more the skills set of an experimental biologist here; such people do not wait for interesting behaviours or animals to happen by, but instead deliberately go out to provoke or engineer these events. Big cat surveys in the USA have employed synthetic catnip oil on what they term "rub strips"; spiky wire contraptions intended to ensnare cat fur when the animal rubs against them.<br /><br />Catnip is a peculiar substance, which appears to subvert some of the pheromonal communication of cats, and induces drunkenness and rubbing behaviour; rub-strips have been demonstrated to be the easiest way to sample big cat fur, and DNA PCR fingerprinting does the rest.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02618328278732100203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16505569.post-79486700282126270842012-02-05T16:33:52.953+00:002012-02-05T16:33:52.953+00:00When dogs kill foxes, they might tear them apart, ...When dogs kill foxes, they might tear them apart, but they won't strip them like this.<br /><br />Dogs won't eat foxes. My grandfather used to trap foxes for their fur, and the dogs never would touch the carcasses when they were cast aside.<br /><br />The fox is the best evidence I've seen.Retrievermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15780519136583108632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16505569.post-7361137318861290402012-02-05T07:04:55.976+00:002012-02-05T07:04:55.976+00:00Excellent post Neil - and thanks for sharing some ...Excellent post Neil - and thanks for sharing some great photos! I always enjoy your writing and insights.RRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01356637045838562794noreply@blogger.com