Devoured deer at Cooper's Edge - suspected big cat attack
A THIRD deer carcass which appears to have been mauled by a large cat has been found in the county.
This time, workers at the Barrett Homes development in Cooper's Edge made the grisly find, which one expert is almost certain was the work of a stealthy predator.
The carcass has been stripped almost bare and has the same hallmarks of the deer remains found near Woodchester Park on January 4. In both cases, the nose has been bitten off its prey and only the head, backbone and little else have been left behind.
Mutilated
One of the site workers, Mike Gorry, said: "We were moving some temporary fencing and just saw it there.
"It's not a little deer, it's quite a big thing so something large must have killed it. You always hear people joking about big cat sightings, until you see it for yourself.
"I'm not an expert but I think something big must have done this."
The carcass was found a little way from the new development, at the bottom of Cooper's Hill.
Big cat expert Frank Tunbridge said he was "85 per cent certain" the kill was made by a big cat.
"With these three recent carcasses we have seen something that we haven't before – the prey's nose being bitten off," he said. "Lions do it to suffocate their prey but a far more believable explanation is that some cats do it as a shock factor.
"They will bite the nose off, which leaves the animal in shock straight away and then they can go in for the kill."
He added: "I've had a look at the map and there seem to be a few quarries near where the latest one was found. Big cats love to hide in places like that and it must have hunted at night.
"It could have killed the animal and then come back for seconds but, assuming the carcass was found the morning after, it's eaten it in one night."
The first carcass to be discovered was at Woodchester Park, and another was found by a dog walker between Whiteway and Redcomb on January 10.
Then, on January 12 and 15, three separate sightings of a panther-like creature were made in South Woodchester and Nailsworth.
DNA swabs from the first two carcasses have been sent to DNA experts at the University of Warwick in a bid to find, once and for all, if a big cat is prowling Gloucestershire.
Dr Robin Allaby, of the university's School of Life Sciences, is testing saliva found on the body. The results of his first test are expected by the end of next week.
Have you seen a big cat or evidence of one? Call The Citizen newsdesk on 01452 420621.
46 Comments
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by Alchemies
Sunday, January 22 2012, 6:16AM
“Interesting photo but big cats eat the soft parts; their dentition doesn't lend itself to crushing bones. They rasp the meat off them with their tongues. Whatever killed this was more likely to be a dog. Was the skull nearby?”
by Andrew_Powell
Sunday, January 22 2012, 2:28AM
“Spindles, having read a few of your posts prior to this one, I strongly suspect that you weren't joking at all.”
by spindles12
Saturday, January 21 2012, 9:22PM
“"Who would expect a badger to be out at that time of the night and, if one was, a dog might smell it and perhaps try to chase it!"
Er .... maybe because they're nocturnal ?"
Oh dear Andrew, I'm afraid the joke was lost on you wasn't it?”
by Andrew_Powell
Saturday, January 21 2012, 8:47PM
“Who would expect a badger to be out at that time of the night " ?
Er .... maybe because they're nocturnal ?”
by spindles12
Saturday, January 21 2012, 8:38PM
“There was a lady on the radio a couple of days ago who was crowing that her dog had attacked and killed a badger, after a twenty minute fight. She was out checking something or other at about 1.00am and her and her dog came upon the badger. No doubt the dog went for the badger before it could run away and, of course, the badger responded by having a go back, (that's what they do). She was moaning that she had a vet's bill amounting to a few hundred pounds to repair the dog. I should add that she was a farmer who was having trouble with badgers on her land and was all in favour of the forthcoming cull. Who would expect a badger to be out at that time of the night and, if one was, a dog might smell it and perhaps try to chase it!”