Report via George Markie
Certain there are no big cats in this country
From the Dundee Courier, 14 th January 2002
Sir,
I read with interest the letter from George Redpath (January 7) about big cats, as I have read all the newspaper reports I have seen on this subject over the last 40 years.
Whatever else is going on, I am quite sure there are no big cats roaming this country for the simple reason that no one has produced the slightest bit of evidence.
Over the years I have covered quite a bit iof ground and I have always taken an interest in our wildlife and their tracks and signs. I have never come across any track, scrape ,mark, claw sharpening sctarch on trees, dropppings, left overs from kills (big cats eat big meat) or any other sign of a big cat. I have never noticed any unusual disturbance among domesticated sheep, oxen, pigs or horses, which might indicate the presence or near presence of a predator.
I have never heard a big cat, although during the mating season they are very vocal. I have never heard any report either by word of mouth or through the media of any animal found with injuries consistent with the failed attack of a big cat. Nor have I ever come across a report of a carcass of a big cat, which had died of old age or as a result of a collision with a motor vehicle.
Leopards, apparently, are quite partial to a bit of dog meat, and will probably want to eat a couple of medium sized dogs in the course of a week. A farmer might miss the occasional sheep, but mountain lions are fond of horses. Are we missing any such animals in sufficient numbers?
I'm afraid that the statements of eyewitnesses alone do not amount to enough evidence in a case like this. We need a lot more.
A.B. Fuchter
7 North Bank Street
Monifieth
Dundee Courier, 14 th January 2002
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