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A suspected lair of a leopard, bursting with remnants of slaughtered sheep, has been uncovered in the rural landscapes of Britain.
Big cat enthusiast Darren Tinsley stumbled across the grisly scene inside an abandoned metal pipe, where he found partially consumed sheep carcasses littered around. Additional skeletal remains were located nearby, all bearing the marks of a savage feast.
The 42 year old tracker observed that the sheep had been meticulously skinned and their bones stripped of meat.
Convinced that the culprit could be a leopard or puma lurking near Frodsham, close to Runcorn in Cheshire, Darren commented: “They all looked like they have been savaged. All the bodies looked like a cat had torn the skin back and eaten it from the insides and out.”
He described the skin as having been completely removed, likely by a large feline predator. He noted multiple carcasses both inside the pipe and scattered around it, and others near a tree at the far end of the fielda perfect spot for a stealthy big cat to dine undetected, reports the Mirror.
Reflecting on his past encounters, Darren shared that he has glimpsed big cats five times over the course of 28 years. “My first one was in 1997 then 1999 but I didn’t see another until around 2014,” he recounted to What’s the Jam.
Continuing his tale, Darren said: “It was close up just meters away so I got a good look and then then again in 2015 and 2016. But that was the last time – I have not seen not one seen since. When I saw one up close it confirmed it for me. So I know what I knew I saw every other time. I have been obsessed since.”
Recent reports have stirred the debate about the presence of big cats in the British countryside, following a sighting described as a creature with “muscular shoulders”. Some experts are now suggesting that these elusive animals may indeed be roaming across the UK.
Paul MacDonald of the Scottish Big Cat Research Team revealed they keep a confidential record of sightings to protect these potential wild cats from harm or hunters.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tara Pirie, a Lecturer in Ecology and Conservation at the University of Surrey and an authority on big cats, shared her insights on Radio Hereford and Worcester: “I think it is highly feasible, I’ve been a safari guide in South Africa for 10 years so I got up close and personal with leopards, lions, cheetah and as far as I’m aware we’re still allowed to have one of these big cats and it to have escaped or it to have been actually let loose.”
Dr. Pirie further commented on the adaptability of these animals: “Big cats are highly adaptable, there’s food, there’s water, there’s a lot of cover, so in my mind there’s absolutely no reason that a big cat could[nt] be roaming the country.”
