Page created 17th Oct 2000

RUTLAND AND LEICESTERSHIRE PANTHER WATCH

WEB SITE

Return to main front page

This page features pictures of a suspected big cat kill in Rutland this month on a small deer.

 

Following various calls from Rutlander's, I received these pictures taken by reliable sources of what appears to have been a big cat killed and partially eaten deer. All the callers expressed their amazement at the state of the carcass (or what remained of it) and had not seen such damage to wildlife before in the country. It is also interesting to note that  the persons who took the digital pictures of the remains noted that the blood had not even congealed and so it is safe to assume it had been killed and eaten in a very short time prior to the witness arriving on the scene. There were no body parts or organs present in the location so all the missing parts were consumed there. As can also be seen, the rib cage has been fractured to gain access to the internals and also the hide removed and meat licked off the bones. This is typical of a big cat, as they have barbed hooks on their tongues creating an effective rasping tool to get all the meat off the bone!!

The animal was found around the 11th of October 2000 by the roadside in a small wood which is intersected by a lane. All the witnesses said that there was no evidence of a car crash and also that the remains were gone the next day. The location was close to Oakham, Rutland and is in an area (isn't everywhere now!!) of recent big cat sightings.

Judge for yourselves

 

 

Return to main front page