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

[JMartJr]

Yeah, the Scottish wildcat is probably a goner, sadly.

I am afraid this may be right. But as a person of Scots descent, and a True Scotsman at heart, I support them when I can -- no True Scotsman could do otherwise!

 

[Ann K]

I am afraid this may be right. But as a person of Scots descent, and a True Scotsman at heart, I support them when I can -- no True Scotsman could do otherwise!

As a Scot, I concur. But as one of the millions of cat lovers in the world, I see no possibility of @Skalman 's suggested draconian measures of house cat control as being likely. I wonder if the wildcats interbreeding with house cats is because of the scarcity of finding another wildcat to breed with. In other words, interbreeding of necessity because in many locales there is no longer a viable wildcat population.

Is that perhaps the ultimate end when many other species go extinct, to mate with their own species when possible, but with other species if forced to look elsewhere? I'm particularly thinking of the small percent of Neanderthal genes found in many Europeans.

 

[RTM]

Is the Kellas wild cat different than the Scots wild cat?

 

[Ann K]

Is the Kellas wild cat different than the Scots wild cat?

The Kellas cat is a large black cat found in Scotland. It is an interspecific hybrid between the Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestrissyn. Felis silvestris grampia) and the domestic cat (Felis catus). Once thought to be a mythological wild cat, with its few sightings dismissed as hoaxes, a specimen was killed in a snare by a gamekeeper in 1984 and found to be a hybrid between the Scottish wildcat and domestic cat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellas_cat

 

[deirdre]

I wonder if the wildcats interbreeding with house cats is because of the scarcity of finding another wildcat to breed with. In other words, interbreeding of necessity because in many locales there is no longer a viable wildcat population.

your article says

Article:

This shift may have occurred for a variety of reasons, including a rise in domestic cat ownership and habitat destruction.When humans deforested large patches of Scottish forest, wildcats were forced into environments closer to humans, where they were more likely to come in contact with a house cat, the authors write in the Conversation.

...
Interestingly, this same interbreeding that is diluting wildcat genes might have actually saved the species from going extinct sooner—through genetic mixing, wildcats gained house cats' ability to fight diseases such as feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus, per Science. Still, the only reason they would have been exposed to those diseases in the first place would have been from house cats

Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wildcats-survival-threatened-from-breeding-with-domestic-cats-180983208/

based on my cats over the years they, male or female, aren't exactly picky with who they mate with. and with females it's like a "pon farr" situation...and its not like they get laid once and are satisfied. so if the two groups are near each other there is going to be intermixing.

 

[jarlrmai]

Seems like this one was due it's regular ~2 year recycle.

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/big-cats-in-british-countryside

As well as science, we can look to other forms of evidence, such as tracks and signs. Mark Graves, now based in Britain after 18 years as an elite wildlife guide in South Africa, is confident about the evidence shown to him. "I've seen several prints and casts that match large cats, like the leopard, from different parts of Britain. A trail camera recently recorded a leopard in Devon 'sawing' [making a raspy call to establish a territory or find a mate]," he says. "Some of the carcasses are compelling, too – freshly filleted deer remains compare well to how leopards leave impala prey in South Africa."

A shame we cannot see this evidence nor check it's provenance.

 

[John J.]

Seems like this one was due it's regular ~2 year recycle.

Agreed, interest seems to wax and wane depending on publicity surrounding claims.

Mark Graves, now based in Britain after 18 years as an elite wildlife guide in South Africa, is confident about the evidence shown to him. "I've seen several prints and casts that match large cats, like the leopard, from different parts of Britain. A trail camera recently recorded a leopard in Devon 'sawing' [making a raspy call to establish a territory or find a mate]," he says. "Some of the carcasses are compelling, too – freshly filleted deer remains compare well to how leopards leave impala prey in South Africa."

(https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/big-cats-in-british-countryside, quoted from @jarlmai's post #126)

It isn't clear if the trail camera recording showed a leopard/ possible leopard, or only recorded a sound someone thought sounded like a leopard.
Claims have been made for carcasses before which have turned out to be at best inconclusive (and possibly the result of dog attacks) as described earlier in the thread.

From the same article, apparently the words of Rick Minter, "podcast host and author of Big Cats: Facing Britain's Wild Predators":

On five occasions now, perfect footage of encounters has been shown or described to me in detail, captured on phone cameras, trail cameras and CCTV. Yet not even offers of cash would persuade these informants to part with their evidence.

But evidence that cannot be examined is not evidence, it is a claim. It might have informed Rick Minter's opinion on the subject, but as with other unusual claims that appear to be contrary to most other evidence, someone (even someone familiar with aspects of the subject) saying something along the lines of "I've seen convincing evidence but I can't show it to you" might not (I think should not) be sufficient reason to accept an unusual claim. Individuals, including experts, have been mistaken (and deliberately duped) before in a number of fields.

We have seen examples of hoaxing in connection with big cat reports in Britain- the photo of a leopard ("Probably the best photo of a British big cat that exists", post #69 on) that turned out to be from a poster; a leopard skull supposedly found on/ near Bodmin Moor that was probably part of a hoax

In the case of the Beast of Bodmin, when a skull found in the River Fowey was presented to the Natural History Museum as proof of its existence, it was found to have been cut from a leopard skin rug

(Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_big_cats); and I remain deeply sceptical of the Leopard hair/ DNA found, by an extraordinary chance, near to the Centre for Fortean Zoology (who also announced the leopard photo that turned out to be an image from a poster).

There are areas of the world where leopards or other large cats are known to exist. Their presence is not ambiguous, though their specific ranges might be uncertain and they might be encountered relatively rarely.

Britain is a reasonably densely populated island and much of the countryside (including forested areas) is managed, and regularly visited / surveyed by the those responsible for management (and often by visitors) . The one major exception might be more mountainous areas of the Scottish Highlands. The highest mountain in England and Wales, Mount Snowdon in north Wales, can be climbed (in fair weather) by a reasonably fit person in casual clothes and a pair of trainers (sneakers). This summer there were arguments among people queueing near the summit waiting for their moment and photo opportunities,
"'It's not Alton Towers' - rows break out over queuing at Wales' highest mountain", BBC News 24 August 2026 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1714xg2vr9o.

The largest farms are a fraction of the size of large farms/ ranches in the USA, Australia or Canada. Missing livestock would be soon missed. I'd guess most adults in Britain carry smartphones. Hiking, hill walking and camping is not uncommon in many countryside areas including by youth groups (Scouts, Guides etc.), none take anti-leopard precautions as far as I know!

Rare and elusive creatures much smaller than leopards are known to live in Britain and their habitats/ ranges are well-documented. Scottish wildcats are an example; they usually avoid humans and they don't predate on livestock (perhaps poultry?), numbers are probably very low but there is no doubt that they exist, and we know (roughly) where.
I feel the circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that there isn't a breeding big cat population in Britain. No unambiguous photos/ footage, no remains of deceased big cats, no widespread or locally repeated (and uncontested) evidence of ongoing predation. All these things exist where big cats are known to exist.
It is all but certain that there have been unauthorised releases of big(-ish) cats in the past, particularly after the passing of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976, but it must be unlikely that such releases/ escapes continue with such frequency that there is a continuous big cat presence in the British countryside. The same lack of conclusive evidence applies to this scenario as it does to a hypothetical breeding population.

 

[Ann K]

Mark Graves, now based in Britain after 18 years as an elite wildlife guide in South Africa, is confident about the evidence shown to him.

Remember the old maxim "To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail".