Dr Robin Allaby, Associate Professor at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick has visited the kill site to examine the evidence and take DNA samples from the wounds of the roe deer to be tested. Theses samples are now being tested with the results due by the end of the month.
DNA tests are to be carried out in the UK to determine once and for all if big cats exist in the wild.
The test will be conducted on the remains of a deer thought to have been killed by a large predatory cat. The 'alien big cats' phenomenon has endured for decades in Britain with sightings and reports of large cats such as panthers in a country to which such animals are not native. "Although people occasionally report a possible big cat from a distance, close up encounters with such cats are rare," said National Trust ranger David Armstrong. "Their hearing and movement are exceptional, which helps them avoid close contact with people."
Source Telegraph
