In the UK, researcher claims possible population of black leopards — Daily Maverick
In the United Kingdom, big cat researcher Rick Minter has said that black leopards and pumas may live and breed in the country’s rural areas. At the same time, there is no convincing evidence of a self-sustaining leopard population, while reports of road incidents involving such animals remain unconfirmed.
As Daily Maverick reports, Minter has been studying the phenomenon for 24 years and has spoken with around 1,500 people who claimed to have seen big cats. According to him, witnesses described animals with long tails, rounded ears, thick legs, large paws and prominent shoulder blades. In about one-third of cases, the researcher claims, dogs or horses reacted to the presence of an unknown animal.
Farmers’ accounts and DNA
An anonymous resident of Kent told Minter that farmers had allegedly found sheep with signs of a big cat attack or in trees. The article’s author stresses that this story has not been verified and does not in itself prove the presence of a leopard.
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Minter also refers to six publicly known positive DNA test results, which he describes as matching a leopard; the samples, he says, came in particular from Gloucestershire and Cumbria. The researcher acknowledges that these results are insufficient to confirm a population and proposes comparing the genetic sequences of new samples. He also claims that more than ten samples from England and Scotland had marks on bones that analysis found to be characteristic of felines.
Conservationists’ assessment
Neil D’Cruz, a wildlife policy specialist at Blood Lions, considers it plausible that non-native big cats that escaped or were released from captivity could survive in suitable habitats. However, he noted that there is no confirmation of a naturalized leopard population. If such predators were breeding, this could create risks for domestic animals, local fauna, animal welfare and human safety.
Ilaria Di Silvestre, director of European policy at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, called the emergence of a self-sustaining population of black leopards extremely unlikely. In her assessment, several parent animals with the rare melanistic trait would have had to survive and breed successfully over years. A representative of Humane World for Animals UK also said that there had been no verified sightings, animal carcasses or cases of capture in the country.
