Report from Jane Ellis via Chris Smith
Zoo chiefs rubbish big cat theory
From the Evening Times 2 nd January 2003
AN EXPERT has cast strong doubts on the existence of a puma running
wild in Ayrshire.Last week police, who were called out after terrified families reported 'screaming, screeching sounds' in Ardrossan, found themselves face to face with an animal they believed to be a puma.
Other sightings of the animal have been reported in nearby Dalgarven and Beith.
The Dalgarven sighting was by a motorist who claimed he saw a brown cat-like animal running across the A737 at Dalgarven Mill, days before the police sighting in Ardrossan.
Several people in Beith also said they spotted a large black cat on the outskirts of the town.
However, Paul Paterson, big cat keeper at Glasgow Zoo, said today: "The police in Ardrossan said the animal they believed was a puma was dark coated, about 3ft high with yellow eyes.
"But a puma is very different. The basic colouration is yellow-brown above and pale yellow brown underneath, while the average length of the body is 5.3ft.
"They range in height from 3.4ft to 4.7ft and will weigh about 120kg or 237lbs, while the eyes are dark in colour and cat-like, not yellow.
"That description is totally different to what these people and the police have seen.
"It is possible they did see a cat of some kind, but the chances of the animal being a puma are slim, although not impossible.
"Big cat sightings can be down to escapee cats from wildlife parks and zoos.".
Evening Times, 2 nd January 2003
Comments on the article by someone who keeps big cats
Firstly, I must admit I loved the article's title "Zoo chiefs rubbish
big cat theory"...
>> The basic colouration is yellow-brown above and pale yellow brown
>> underneath.
aside from one report in this article already mentioning a "brown cat-
like animal", this comment ignores the possible effects of lighting
on apparent coloration and the spectrum of gray-red phases in "normal"
pumas.
belly fur is more cream/white, too :)
>> while the average length of the body is 5.3ft.
(5.3ft = 1.60m)
A *head-body* length of 1.60m would be a really big puma, far less
this being quoted as a body length, alone.
>> They range in height from 3.4ft to 4.7ft
absurd.
1 metre (3.3 feet) at the shoulder is a good-sized Amur tiger.
the police report of "about 3ft high" is already excessive (albeit
clearly a guesstimate), but the "expert" is saying it should be even
more
>> and will weigh about 120kg or 237lbs
aside from the dodgy metric conversion, 120kg is a ridiculous weight
for a puma. somewhere around 40-60kg would be more sensible as a
single-figure quote.
>> "That description is totally different to what these people and
>> the police have seen.
Actually, the reports given sound more like a puma than Paul's
("AN EXPERT has cast strong doubts..." *cough*; sorry, Paul).
>> "It is possible they did see a cat of some kind, but the chances
>> of the animal being a puma are slim, although not impossible.
Why on earth add this "get out" clause if he's so certain?
>> "Big cat sightings can be down to escapee cats from wildlife parks
>> and zoos."
Umm... and why add this, too?
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