Claim: DNA evidence confirms existence of black panthers in the British countryside

[Mendel]

For a more reasonable height of the patch of 60-80 cm, we instead get down to 20-25 cm shoulder height, and that just happens to be the size of a completely normal house cat.

To drive this point home: both boxes are the same dimensions, and the black cat fits comfortably within.

For the "leopard" to be twice as big as the cat, it'd have to be at least 3 times as far as the cat, and it doesn't look like it was. (Do we have a map earlier in the thread?)

As presented by Shell Lee, the image of the "normal cat" is smaller than the image of the "black panther" even though the black panther is more distant. Checkmate, Skeptics.

The point is that the cat is not smaller than the black animal, relative to the size of the bush. It is bigger.

See also https://www.metabunk.org/threads/cl...-in-the-british-countryside.12957/post-290202 and following for a nicer comparison.

 

[Trailblazer]

To drive this point home: both boxes are the same dimensions, and the black cat fits comfortably within.

For the "leopard" to be twice as big as the cat, it'd have to be at least 3 times as far as the cat, and it doesn't look like it was. (Do we have a map earlier in the thread?)


The point is that the cat is not smaller than the black animal, relative to the size of the bush. It is bigger.

See also https://www.metabunk.org/threads/cl...-in-the-british-countryside.12957/post-290202 and following for a nicer comparison.

I think you are misunderstanding @Z.W. Wolf's point. Read on and his post explains why the presentation is deceptive.

The crop is misleading and suggests that the "small cat" is in the foreground whereas the "big cat" was much further away.

But in fact, the crop shows just a small part of the image, all of which is a long way away from the camera - in fact, to a good approximation, they are the SAME distance away from the camera, so if they appear the same size, they ARE the same size.

Both cats were a long way from where the camera was located, as the zoomed-out view reveals:

 

[Hougenai]

Here we go again;

The Beast of Cumbria - Big cat DNA confirmed on sheep carcass​

https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/24316032.big-cat-dna-confirmed-cumbria/

The basic story is Sharon Larkin Snowden, variously described as a p/t construction worker or experienced big cat investigator has announced as an exclusive in the regional comic paper that DNA has been found on sheep carcass.



Her initial contact with said carcass was in Nov 2023 after reports from local farmers of 'unusual activity' on their land.
She claims her own sighting, of what became 'The Beast of Cumbria'

The 52-year-old part-time construction worker was first told about alleged sightings of the so-called Beast of Cumbria in November, when local farmers noticed “unusual activity” on their land. But it wasn’t until later in the month that she claims to have had her own sighting.


She stumbled upon the carcass of a sheep, which looked “different to how sheep are killed by fox or other predators”.
“It looked freshly killed,” she said. “I videoed myself walking around the local area to look for the cat in case it was still around. I wanted to cover myself in case something happened, God forbid. I took photos and went back to the car and then when I turned around the corner I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

“I thought it was a dog, and it took a few seconds for my brain to realise it wasn’t a dog, it was a big cat. It was a leopard. It must have heard me coming toward the sheep and then ran away.”

Since then Larkin-Snowden has been tracking the cat’s movements every day, responding to calls from local farmers who report similar sightings. She regularly updates a Facebook group called Big Cats in Cumbria, which has posts from others who claim to have made sightings.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...an-leopard-sighting-fails-to-convince-experts


Odd, she now claims finding DNA but mentions noting about sampling for such in the reports from her 'stumble upon the carcass'.
We can only speculate methodology she used for the collection and storage of these samples. That and the questionable ethics of a commercial set up analysing them without a sound methodology.

In the Guardian report, her initial claim is questioned by Dr Eril Droge of Oxford Uni

Dr Dröge remains critical of the claims made by Larkin-Snowden and Minter. He said: “Another flag, for me, is that she’s been actively investigating them in the area for 25 years, but only finds some now. Where were they before? Where were the killed sheep before? Where were the tracks?”

Perhaps the answers to Dr Droge's questions are ; Gloucester. Gloucester. From Junction 14 on the M5 to junction 42 on the M6
as it fancied a break in the Lake District to get away from it all.


Hot on the long black tail of the Gloucestershire DNA claimed by Matthew Everett's Panthera Declassified , it's a bit convenient.

 

[Mendel]

Odd, she now claims finding DNA but mentions noting about sampling for such in the reports from her 'stumble upon the carcass'.

Might have been her hedging her bets, i.e. if it had turned up nothing, she could've kept silent about it.

Or it could've been a sample acquired at the zoo.

Or there could really be a big cat around now. Over here, I'd think "wolf", though a large number of dead sheep turn up with dog DNA.

 

[Hougenai]

Apologies, the Mail article cited previously is partially hidded and the full article with more detail is available in the sister publication.

She passed three swabs to expert and producer of Big Cat Conversations podcast Rick Minter who sent the samples to a specialist lab at the University of Warwick.

The university's School of Life Sciences centre offers a pioneering DNA analysis service utilised by many ecological consultancies, private individuals and wildlife enthusiasts.

The team, led by Professor Robin Allaby, tested the swabs and found that one indicated a panthera result, meaning it is from the genus of big cats, with two yielding fox DNA.

"The section we have sequenced is distinct to the group Panthera, which includes all the big cats - lions, tigers, panthers, leopards.

"There was only a very small amount of DNA present, which again is not surprising. So we need more data from more samples to pin it down to a specific species."

https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/24316032.big-cat-dna-confirmed-cumbria/