On the track of the big cats

The Wiltshire wildcat is a widely known phenomenon and each year there are dozens of alleged sightings but very little evidence to prove they are really out there.

Big cat enthusiasts converged on Dartmoor last month to discuss the evidence found dotted across the country, which included footage from trigger cameras set-up in North Wiltshire.

The conference was organised by the British Big Cat Society, which was formed three years ago to study sightings and evidence of big cats, as well as finding funding for research.

The society said there were 13 possible sightings in Wiltshire last year but as yet no photographic evidence.

Lorry driver Brian Wakefield spotted a large black cat while walking in a Swindon woodland in June last year.

Mr Wakefield, from Covingham, was walking in Bradon Woods near Pavenhill with his fianc Alison Carter when the animal came out of the woods and crossed the path 100 yards in front of them.

"It was a big black cat about the size of a Labrador, with a long sweeping black tail," he said. "I had a camera with me, but I wasn't ready in time to take a photograph."

Two weeks later, Great Bedwyn secretary Kathie Marshall caught sight of a creature she thought to be a panther.

A friend was driving her home from Shalbourne when Miss Marshall, 53, saw a large black cat in a field in Jockey Green. Miss Marshall said she was convinced from the way it moved that it was one of the big cat family.

A few months later, in August, landscape gardener Colin Booth saw a large black cat move out of a bush near to where he was cutting a hedge in Rowden Hill, Chippenham.

Mr Booth said the creature was only 20 feet away from him and it had a small head, with flat ears and a muscular body.

"Its coat was jet black and shone as it walked," he said. "It was a beautiful creature and had a profound effect on me. I will remember it for the rest of my life."

Because the animals have such a large territory it is possible that it was the same cat that was spotted at each location.

"A black panther in a rural area will have a territory of about 20 square miles as long as there is plenty of prey," said BBCS scientific officer Chris Moiser.

And in February this year two sightings of a large black cat took place in Calne, along Anchor Road and near Sands Farm a few days later.

Clive Moulding is the BBCS Wiltshire representative and he investigates sightings across the county. He is also responsible for setting up three trigger cameras.

"There were some 13 incidents involving possible sightings of a large cat like animal in Wiltshire last year. They range from the south of the county to the north but far more are reported in the north," he said.

Mr Moulding has been following these sightings for more than ten years and he said from the evidence he has collected he is convinced there is something living in and around Wiltshire.

"Whilst I only investigate sightings where there is some form of evidence such as a track or a livestock or wildlife kill, modern technology plays a big role in trying to gather tangible evidence in such cases. The use of remote video and stills cameras left for weeks at a time may one day provide us with the proof we need," he said.

Mr Moulding said people were seeing something, but the big question was what. He said: "Some of the sightings are genuine mistakes and others just glimpses of an animal disappearing through a hedge which could be explained by our own native wildlife. Far more research needs to be done in this area."

Clive Moulding, BBCS co-ordinator for Wessex, said there had been many sightings of big cats in the area.

"In the past five years there have probably been in the region of 60 sightings from around Chippenham and back down through Lyneham and Wootton Bassett," he said.

Later in the year the BBCS will be delivering a document to the Department of Food and Rural Areas, the prime minister and every police force in the country, which will outline the case for the existence of big cats in Britain.