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The Josh Hopkins "Attack"
For more information on this see Police big cat warning. This event occurred in Wales, but was the big cat event of the year 2000 for the whole of the UK. However, few researchers believe that these cuts were caused by a cat's claws.
Chris Smith.
I have never been attacked by a big cat, although I have been scratched and bitten (playfully) by a number of domestics in my time. The distance between the scratches causes me problems. The marks on the subject's face also reminds me more of the times when I have been scratched by trailing brambles, than by cats. I have difficulty in imagining how a cat could have scratched the subject on the surface of his cheek and also under his chin - unless it was slowly moving its paw over the surface of his lower face rather than lashing out. If, like me, you try running your fingers over your own face you will see exactly what I mean about the difficulty of reproducing scratches like those on the subject's face.
Dr Christina A. Smith, Scottish Big Cats
I wouldn't dispute the legitimacy of this claim based on my seeing one photograph, and I am certainly no expert on big cat attacks. I must say though, I have seen quite a number of claw wounds upon humans and have been on the receiving end of a few myself. The wounds on this young man's face do not look the same as any big cat claw-marks I have seen.
When domestic cats utilize their claws, they make contact, rake downward inflicting three or four abrasions or lacerations. Big cats, or cats with big claws such as the bobcat, lynx and everything larger, apply their claws much differently. When these cats swat a victim, the paw is thrown much the same as a boxer throws a jab. One or two claws penetrate the flesh causing a deep puncture, rather than long claw marks. Whenever these claw marks are seen on animals, they are almost always the result of the cat attempting to hold on to the prey, and the lacerations are extremely deep. This did not appear to be the case with the young man in the photo.
It isn't unusual for our veterinarians to treat hunting dogs after encounters with bobcats. In most cases, the wounds appear more as the dog being hit in the face with a pitch-fork. If the dog is persistent and engages in battle, the cat will cut to the bone and often kill the dog very quickly.
The attached picture shows my own hand after receiving one hit from a tame but angry bobcat. This picture was taken a week after the incident but it shows the damage one claw can do. A similar swat to the face by a big cat such as a cougar or leopard would be
devastating.
Ben Willis, Scottish Big Cats
Concerning the Josh Hopkins photographs, as a matter of my own curiosity, I posed the question of big cat claw marks to another list that I subscribe to. This particular list is devoted to the husbandry of exotic felines and has about three hundred subscribers. Some are zoo-keepers, others are simply owners of various big cats kept as pets. My question was, anyone having an experience of being struck by the claws of a big cat, what did the wound look like. So far, I have received only about a dozen replies, but the answers have been unanimous. Whenever hit by the claws of a cougar or leopard, the mark invariably has been one single puncture rather than a series of rake marks. The only exception is from the rear feet, only seen when the cat has engaged in fighting with another cat. In those cases, the rake marks do occur, but since the rear claws are considerably duller, the wounds are much more of a gaping laceration, more similar to being sliced with a dull knife. Occasionally, these rake marks will be caused on a human when a tame or playful cat may leap on someone's back, but this is almost always through clothing.
So, for whatever its worth, those were the responses.
Ben Willis, Scottish Big Cats
I have been interested to read the comments re Josh Hopkin's lacerations and the probable cause etc.
What hasn't been mentioned is the presence of the two superficial puncture wounds on his scalp that corresponded in spatial distance and form to teeth marks typical of a big cat. This vital piece of evidence was missed almost entirely by the press. A doctor gave her professional opinion that a cat had caused the injuries.
In addition Josh's testimony about his encounter is the most genuine I have ever heard. He described a black cat rearing up , swiping and catching his cheek/jawline and pulling his face towards its mouth, the cat had Lily pad markings under its chest and a distended bellyâ that correlates well with an adult melanistic leopard rather than a juvenile.
His graphic description of the smell on the cats breath and the volume of the hiss and the very real terror he (and his brother) describe (in addition to the other details) are more than most ten year olds could make up.
I personally believe that Josh did have an encounter with a black leopard, this was a defensive encounter much as a female will discipline cubs rather than an attack which is devastatingly powerful. This is a very important differentiation to make.
I was interested to read Ben's comments on various peoples experience of cat injuries. There is an incredible variety of wounds caused by cats and I feel Josh's fall within the range. Due to the retractability of the claws a leopard (as has been described in India by a victim) can swipe and not leave any mark or as Trapper Pete Wise recently commented can 'open you up down to the bone'.
Wounds from cats can be puncture wounds if the claws 'bite in' or raking scratches caused by both back and front claws. The scratches/puncture wounds from front claws can be single, two, three , four or five in number (if the dew claw) also catches although this latter injury is rare and leaves a smaller mark or shorter scratch due to the position high above the foot on the same side as the inner toe (like our thumb). The cat has to be in a very precise position for the dew claw to catch although it does happen when a cat takes on large prey (e.g. a lion tacking buffalo).
The woman that encountered a leopard in the Inkberrow graveyard showed five scratch wounds across her ribs. In fact four of these were due to the cat and the fifth was caused by her Barbour coat zip digging in as the cat swiped her.
I'd be interested to hear any comments.
John Murray, Scottish Big Cats
The only comment I could make concerning the Josh Hopkins photo only involved the photo itself, and not the testimony of circumstances. As I had said, I would be reluctant to dispute the authenticity as it isn't impossible for such marks to appear, but highly improbable. After taking a number of swats from medium sized cats, and many to my own face, I know the power they possess. When these cats do swat in a playful gesture, they do so without the claws extended. When the claws are extended, the swat is much harder, and the cat even has the ability to retract or extend the claw after it makes contact. In order for all four claws to make contact, the lower foot pad would also make contact, especially if the claws were less than fully extended. In the case of a leopard, that trauma alone would be a broken jaw or a very serious bruise.
I had not heard about the tooth mark to the scalp, but it would be very unusual for a big cat to inflict a bite unless the victim was secured by the claws.
I must say, I am a believer in the big cats in the U.K., but the Josh Hopkins incident doesn't appear consistent with a big cat attack in my opinion.
Ben Willis, Scottish Big Cats
The additional comments which I recieved after my initial post to the U.K. list were for the most part the same as I recieved previously. That is, punctures as opposed to scratches. One gentlemen described to me how he had been "hooked" by a leopard when he was too close to its cage. This resulted in a "rip" in the flesh of his arm, more likely caused by his jumping back as it happened.
This past Sunday, my wife was planting flowers near our bobcat's enclosure when a paw suddenly lashed out catching her forearm. She was understandably startled, even though the damage was minimal. When I looked at the marks, what I saw were two very noiceable dots into her skin, but nothing remotely resembling a scratch. Note, I say dots instead of punctures since I'm downplaying the incident. I seem to be blamed whenever the cat behaves badly. In that case, I believe the cat had mistaken her for one of the dogs who will occasionally put their nose through that part of her fence. The cat is always docile and affectionate toward us both.
A few weeks ago, the Discovery Channel aired a program devoted to tigers. In one segment, a disgruntled tiger made a swat toward the other catching him/her in the chest area. When the camera showed a close-up of the resulting wound, it was most clearly one single large puncture.
I think standard logic would tell us that if a domestic cat can deliver a scratch, a big cat could deliver a bigger scratch. This most definitely doesnt happen. The bigger the cat, the larger the claws, and the large claws are more blunted than the small ones. Feline claws are much the same design as fishing hooks. I have no idea the origin of fishing hooks, or who invented them, but I have every suspicion that they were patented from the idea of cat claws. One might easily be scratched by a small fishing hook but unlikely by a giant one. Just as the hook, a cat's claw is designed to puncture, penetrate, and hold. When the cat must rely on his claws as a weapon, he will punture and pull back, or allow his opponant to pull back. Either way, the result is either a puncture or rip, but not a cut. The claws themselves have no design for cutting, only ripping. The scratch from a small cat is the same as a rip from a big one.
Ben Willis, Scottish Big Cats
I have seen what a leopard paw will do to the head of a male baboon, and met a Zambian boy who had his face swatted by a leopard - it had almost wiped the right side of his face away - no sign of neat parallel cuts as evidenced by the boy in Wales.
Phil Crosby, Scottish Big Cats
I have a number of colleagues who are familiar with various types of wounds from their time spent in different Accident & Emergency departments. They all, independently, came to the conclusion that the wounds seen were most likely caused by a cutting implement such as a knife or scalpel rather than a claw.
Dr Christina A. Smith, Scottish Big Cats
In the following photo, Mr. George Whaley made the mistake of standing too close to the enclosure of an angry bobcat.
The result was a lashing paw which left a deep puncture on Mr. Whaley's cheek.
Ben Willis, President, Scottish Big Cat Trust.
The wound in detail
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