Wednesday, 24 February 2010

What looks like a ‘huge cat’ has been spotted 30 times in West Dorset since Christmas, according to a man who is trying to learn the truth about the legendary huge Dorset cat.

Photographer Alan McNamee, from Bridport, is convinced of the existence of the animal.

He has now assembled a team who are ready to respond to sightings as they are reported.

Alan saw the animal close up in 2004 – an experience he said was “scary”.

Shaken

He said: “I was working late one night at home and I heard a noise. I went downstairs and looked outside, towards the fields at the back of my house, and I saw that the hedge was thrashing about.

“Then I saw a large cat with a badger in its mouth.

“It leapt onto a bank and disappeared.

“It completely shook me up.”

Alan called the police who visited the scene immediately.

He said: “The police returned the next day to have a look at the area [in daylight] and they confirmed that they had found paw prints.”

New sightings

Alan’s interest has now been renewed after a series of new sightings, and he has contacted a team of experts, including a ‘huge cat’ expert and a specialist vet, to help establish the truth.

Alan said: “I’m hearing of several sightings a week. [The people who see it] are just people going about their normal business.

“The last sighting was Friday evening [19 February 2010].

“A woman was driving over the A35 [between Bridport and Dorchester], and it was running across a field.

“I have also had land owners who have said they have seen it.

“And all of those sightings are of a similar format.

“It’s farmers finding unusual footprints on their land, or sheep or cattle being attacked.

“The animals have two punctures in their neck and their internal intestines are gone.

“They have a broken back, there’s no blood, and some have been dragged to the top of a tree.

“But to drag a heavy sheep across a field for a 100 yards, over a fence and up a tree – that’s not the work of a dog or a fox.”

Evidence

Alan is now waiting for the next sighting, with the hope that he can get to the scene immediately and find enough evidence or remains that can be recorded and analysed.

This needs to be carried out as quickly as possible after an animal attack as this is the key to gathering evidence which can determine what the creature is.

“It’s vital we get there within a few hours after a kill, to take photos, take DNA and look around for anything else.”

“Everyone says the same thing [about the creature] – it’s black, its tail is as long as its body, it’s larger than a labrador and a excellent 6ft [1.8m] in length.

“There are key things that people see, and what they say is close by, that are key to each sighting.”

Report it

Alan has this advice for people who reckon they might have seen it:

“The first thing to do is to make a note of where you’ve seen it, and then report it straight away to the police.”

PC John Snellin, Wildlife Officer for Dorset Police, says all reported sightings are taken seriously.

He said: “We get the sightings honestly regularly and most are from level-headed people.

“It’s a fascinating subject but we wouldn’t scare monger – we need to keep it in proportion.

“It’s not a policing priority but all reports are recorded, but, by my reckoning, there have been nothing like 30 sightings [reported to the police].

“But if you do see one, don’t approach it – call the police. It is very likely to just run away.”

Black puma

PC Snellin believes the animal could be a black puma, and one theory is that it was released into the wild after the 1976 Perilous Animals Act was made law, which banned keeping perilous animals as pets – but PC Snellin thinks it is very unlikely an animal would have survived that long, or gone on to breed.

Alan McNamee’s theory is that it could be an animal that is privately owned, but not officially registered, and is occasionally “let out” to hunt, but PC Snellin believes this is too unlikely as it would be hard to control.

PC Snellin said: “It’s not like calling in a black labrador.”

Whatever the truth, Alan McNamee is hoping to get to the bottom of it.

He said: “Most sightings have been in a triangular area between Weymouth, Dorchester and Winterbourne Abbas.

“But there is something out there causing the hurt [to the animals] and it’s not a dog or a fox.

“It’s a predator.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/dorset/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8533000/8533592.stm
(Submitted by Lindsay Selby)

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Chinese government, World Bank and NGOs co-operating on multimillion-dollar scheme to protect Amur tiger

Jonathan Watts in Hunchun guardian.co.uk, Sunday 7 February 2010 17.08 GMT

Taking turns to act as human ploughs, Liang Jianmin and his tiger survey team forge through mile after mile of knee-deep snow in the mountain forests near China’s frozen mountain border with Siberia.

From dawn to dusk they track, ­looking for droppings, paw prints, bark scratchings, scraps of fur caught on twigs and fences, any sign that the Amur tiger – the largest cat species in the world – is still alive in the wilds of China.

Elsewhere in Hunchun, other teams scour the slopes and valleys near the North Korean border, while in Russia, zoologists and conservation groups trudge through the taiga forest with the same goal: measuring the scale of the challenge facing the most ­ambitious effort yet to save the endangered predator.

Next week, China will start the year of the tiger with fireworks, feasting and, the Guardian has learned, a new drive by the government, the World Bank and conservation groups to halt the perilous decline of Asia’s most powerful wildlife symbol.

Since the last tiger year, in 1998, the wild population of the animal worldwide has nearly halved to about 3,200 due to habitat loss, economic development and poaching for hides and traditional medicine.

China has been among the worst affected. The South China tiger, which has not been seen for many years, is feared to have followed the Bali, Caspian and Java subspecies into extinction in the wild. In the country’s north, the population of the Amur tiger – which can grow to three metres in length and 300 kilograms – is estimated at 18 to 22.

Many of these animals are isolated from one another by roads and railways, making it hard for them to breed.

The ­conservation group WWF warns that the animal may be extinct in the wild in China within three decades if current trends continue. The tiger is the group’s priority for 2010.

Across the world, other would-be saviours are taking advantage of the ­Chinese zodiac to press home the need for changes in consumption and development patterns.

Last week, the first Asian ministerial conference on tiger conservation, in Hua Hin, Thailand, set a goal of doubling the wild population by the start of the next tiger year, in 2022.

The Chinese government recently issued a directive calling for increased protection of wild tigers through ­habitat management, public education and stronger law enforcement action. In September, Vladivostok will host the first tiger summit, which is expected to be co-hosted by the Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin, and the World Bank president, Robert Zoellick. While disputes remain about Chinese tiger farming and the use of tiger parts in traditional medicine, there are signs of co-operation.

The Guardian has learned that the World Bank, NGOs and the Chinese ­government are discussing a three-stage, multimillion-dollar scheme to protect the Amur tiger. Measures will include acquiring land for expanded reserves, linking tiger communities, relocating residents, training local officials and reconfiguring forestry ­management to allow for sustainable economic use and cohabitation by ­predators and prey species.

The survey in Hunchun and Siberia is a preliminary step that shows an unprecedented level of co-operation between China, Russia, the World Bank and conservation groups.

In the first week, the team found a piece of tiger fur caught on a fence, and droppings and sightings of the main prey species – wild boar and sika deer – as well as snares and traps left by poachers.

The main threat comes from economic development, which intrudes into the tiger’s habitat. In some places it takes the form of roads or railways; elsewhere, it is logging, mines and frog farms.

“Infrastructure construction has blocked the tiger’s migration channels and the rising population density has eaten into the tiger’s territory,” warned Wu Zhigang, of the Jilin Science Academy as he pressed through the snow. “We must restore these channels by building elevated roads or tunnels.”

Wu, one of China’s leading tiger experts, said the government was drawing up plans for a tiger-friendly model of forestry management that would be presented at a forum in the spring.

The people in Hunchun will need to be convinced that it is in their interests to protect an animal often seen as a threat. In the last three years there have been more than 120 tiger attacks on farm animals and one human death.

Compensation has been increased. Che Jinxia, the last woman to survive an attack, received more than 50,000 yuan (about £5,000), a record.

The Wildlife Conservation Society is also trying to foster tiger eco-tourism in the region, partly through the launch last November of an annual Hunchun tiger festival. It will be expanded this year with a conservation marathon, exhibitions, forums, screenings and tiger-themed essay and art competitions.

“We want to appeal to nature lovers by showing that the tiger habitat is an ideal environment,” said Sun Quanhai, the local director of the society. ­”Hunchun’s forest coverage exceeds 80%. The local government have realised the importance of conservation and chose to make Hunchun the ‘tiger town’ of China.”

Whether the current spirit of optimism and co-operation can be sustained throughout the tiger year is, but, far from certain.

China’s tiger farmers, who have bred more than 5,000 animals, are pushing for a relaxation of the ban on the trade of tiger parts in the hope of selling bones and penises for traditional medicine.

If this plot is submitted to the next CITES (convention on international trade in endangered species) meeting in Doha in March, it could undermine the goodwill that has built up in recent months.

Celebrity ’saviours’

Tiger Woods and Madonna are at the frontline of a controversial, celebrity-backed project to protect tigers in their natural habitat. The two South China tigers were raised in captivity and flown to a reserve in South Africa for training on how to survive in the wild. In a semi-protected environment, they and other tigers have spent four years “learning” how to mate and to kill guinea fowl, antelope and blesbok.

It is hoped their offspring will eventually be prepared for a flight back to China and released into reintroduction areas in either Jiangxi and Hunan province.

The “rewilding project” has the backing of the government in Beijing and several mostly Chinese celebrities, including the actors Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh, director Chen Kaige and entrepreneur David Tang.

The foundation behind it was established in 2000 by the fashion executive Li Quan. It is not clear whether Tiger Woods or Madonna have approved the use of their names.

Critics claim the project is an expensive distraction from protecting the tiger species in their natural habitat. The same criticism has been levelled at China’s captive breeding of pandas and other endangered species.

Divisions over how best to conserve rare animals partly contributed to the demise of the baiji, a freshwater dolphin found only in the Yangtze river, because foreign and Chinese zoologists were unable to agree on whether it should be taken to a reserve or looked after better in its natural environment.

Additional reporting by Cui Zheng and Han Ying

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/feb/07/china-tiger-year-amur-conservation

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By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 10:49 AM on 25th January 2010

A set of massive paw prints could finally be proof of the existence of a ‘huge cat’ residents believe has stalked their village for 30 years.

The chilling 9cm (3.5inch) imprints of a large feline’s foot were learned in several inches of snow by teaching assistant Coryn Memory, 43.

She took photos of the prints after her neighbour Jane Spicer, 53, saw a large cat ‘the size of a Labrador’ dog run past her on a country lane in Thrupp near Stroud, Gloucestershire.

Villagers have been reporting an elusive beasts in the area – sometimes rummaging through bins – for the last three decades.

The creature has been spotted more than 15 times this month alone and experts believe it may have been forced into the open by the terrible weather.

Ms Memory said: ‘Jane and I went out immediately and followed where it had been and took photos of the prints. It’s about nine centimetres from its front toe to its back pad.

‘You can see its toes and it looks like someone’s just dropped a dart at the end of each toe where it’s claw has made an indentation in the snow.

‘The stride between the prints was about 120cm and there were tail marks in the snow as well.’

She added: ‘I’ve seen it loads of times across the valley. One of the neighbours has been here since she was a child and she said she’s been seeing it for 30 years.’

Ms Spicer, a caretaker, said: ‘The animal was long in body and about the size of a collie. The tail was round thick and black, and it had a small catlike head.

‘I’ve always been quite sceptical about whether to believe it or not, but I know what I saw.’

Huge cat investigator Frank Tunbridge said more sightings are likely in the adverse weather as the cat comes out of the woodland to look for prey, such as voles, field mice and deer.

He said: ‘The tracks are clawed, which make them different from a domestic cat.

‘The pads are slightly rounder than a dog’s and the claw marks are like points of a dart, as opposed to a dog’s which are blunt.

‘This animal is a mysterious beast. It has a few characteristics of a huge cat and others which are dog-like.

‘This time of year is also their mating season so they come out of familiar surroundings to look for a mate. I reckon the sightings are all probably the same one or two cats, as most are very territorial.’

Experts believe huge cats are the descendants of animals like pumas or panthers released into the wild by owners after the Perilous Animals Act 1976 tightened up regulations over keeping them as pets.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1245816/Is-huge-cat-mystery-solved-Villagers-huge-paw-prints-snow-30-years-sightings.html#ixzz0dik9KUT3
(Submitted by Liz R)

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The Abominable Snowman, Huge Foot, the Loch Ness Monster and the beast that stalks the Fens are just some of the myths that have yet to be proved fact or fiction.

The Fen Tiger was first reported in 1982 in Cottenham, and this week a paw print was found in the snow.

But huge cat experts from Linton Zoo and Shepreth Wildlife Park are split over the existence of the beast.

Paw prints photographed in the snow at Histon prompted claims they might belong to a huge cat.

One reader, Kerry Goodayle, said: “I can’t imagine it was a dog – it could be a huge cat, maybe a puma.”

Since the tale was reported in the News, Linton Zoo has received a number of calls from the public asking about animal prints they have seen.

And Kim Simmons, spokeswoman for the zoo, has spoken out to scotch suggestions that a huge cat is out there somewhere.

She said: “There is no way that the prints shown in the photos in the News could be a huge cat.

“There is a lot of hysteria about the so-called Fen Tiger, but I am sure it doesn’t really exist. If it does, where does it come from, and what is it feeding on?

“The zoo has been keeping all kinds of huge cats since the late Sixties, including pumas, leopards, panthers, tigers and lions, so we have many years’ experience of behaviour and footprints.

“We have always kept an open mind about the Fen Tiger, which has become a bit of a Loch Ness monster, and we have been called out to sightings, been sent photographs and film, and been shown casts of prints – but we have never yet seen evidence to suggest there is such a beast on the loose.”

She has sent the News pictures of lion paw prints – to show readers what a huge cat’s print really looks like.

“The print pictured in the News was probably just a rabbit’s,” she said.

Last July, another News reader suggested a mutilated muntjac might have been killed by a huge cat, but Ms Simmons said: “In fact it was probably just a road kill, which had then been partly eaten by a fox.”

Her view about the latest prints was supported by another reader, Mandy Knowles from Willingham, who contacted the News to say: “I had similar footprints in the snow in my garden in Willingham and thought they belonged to a huge cat. I followed the prints until I came to the fence, and found a small hole where something had scraped their way underneath. My husband and I concluded that the prints belonged to a rabbit hopping around in the snow.”

But keeper Chris Knowles, no relation, from Shepreth Wildlife Park, is certain the cats exist.

He told the News: “I’m absolutely convinced they are out there. There is so much evidence. Huge cats have been hit by cars. One was hit in Scotland – you can’t deny a body being found.

“I went to Brazil to film them and, seeing how elusive they are in their own habitat, I am convinced they could live here without being seen.

“I reckon they have probably been released by people who kept them as pets.”

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_cambridge/displayarticle.asp?id=477179
(Submitted by Caty Bergman)

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