Hearing the rumor that black panthers in UK are still alive in some parts and wondering if these words are true or not?
Even if the rumour is somehow true, where are black panthers actually found? What do they hunt for themselves and eat?
Finding the solution to these questions is not easy because black panthers have long ago disappeared from the UK, and now they fall under the category of extinct species there.
So, the question arises, why this rumour? Has someone seen this black panther in any region of this country? Or, are people just making creative imaginings about it?
Before we inspect the details and unveil this big cat mystery, let’s first know how they look and what do black panthers eat.
Black Panthers in UK: Their Basic Features and Look
Black panthers, as the name suggests, are black in appearance. They look like black leopards. Some people say that these animals also resemble the appearance of mountain lions.
Sometimes, the facial cutting of the black panthers remains similar to that of lynx. They fall under the species of wild cat. The black panthers have a low and long-bodied type structure.
They are often found chasing geese when they stroll here and there in flocks. They used to be identified by their purposeful strides and their soaking in sunlight in the early dawn.
It has a tubular tail and hates being disturbed. Their movement remains very fluid and vanishes within seconds when they get a hint of somebody watching or coming near.
Where Are Black Panthers Found?
Some people have claimed that they have seen and also gotten evidence of black panthers in some forests of the UK. They have seen their bites on the body parts of dead deer in the forest.
But a few other people choose to remain silent on this issue even after seeing momentous glimpses of this animal. They do so in fear of the society and its criticism.
These people think that society will never believe that the animal that was extinct for so many years is back. To be certain about the existence of black panthers in UK, many people have tried to record footage by installing or setting up cameras in the expected places of their visit.
These cameras include:
- Phone cameras.
- Trail cameras.
- CCTV cameras, etc.
However, these people denied access to this evidence even after the presentation of monetary offers to them. The places where black panthers in UK are suspected to be seen are Essex, Cumbria, Somerset, Dorset, etc.
Sometimes, these animals are seen haunting or eating muntjac deer. At other times, these big wild cats were also seen chasing squirrels and other innocent animals.
The people who have reported about these incidents were in most cases hinted at or warned by their pets. Such pets that indicated the same with their nervous reactions were dogs, horses, etc.
What Do Black Panthers Eat?
Being carnivores, these animals are expected to feed themselves the meat of medium-sized mammals. Such animals may be wild pigs, deer, etc. However, they were also seen to hunt smaller creatures as well. They include:
- Rodents,
- Rabbits,
- Birds,
- Fishes,
- Reptiles, etc.
They just wait for the opportunity to attack the prey animals. As soon as the black panthers in UK see livestock, domestic animals, or any other of the above creatures, they attack them and force their teeth upon them to eat. So, these wild big cats used to be seen roaming around the natural habitats of these creatures.
Black Panthers in UK: The Scientific Evidence Found About Them.
To avoid the confusion of whether the big cats are in the UK or not, various scientists have undergone various DNA tests regarding them.
And the important news is that the DNA test results confirmed, in most cases, that the samples of the suspected black animals found on the left-out bodies of the preys are those of the black panthers in UK.
Why? Because the matching percentage is almost 99 percent! Some of the DNA tests done in the UK are on
- The sample of black hair was collected from a sheep farm residing in Gloucestershire.
- The predator sample was found on the leftover carcass of a dead sheep. The place from where the carcass was found is in Cumbria.
Apart from DNA tests, expert opinions in this regard also matter. And the experts often show their skepticism in this matter. According to them, the DNA sample test result may not indicate that black panthers are still existing in the UK.
The sample may also be of any deceased scavenger. For example, it might be the sample of a dead wild cat. Some experts also think that black panthers in UK are more widespread.
Apart from the places mentioned above, this species was also reported to be seen in Devon, Scotland, and many other places.
FAQs
1. What are the 7 big cats?
The 7 big cats recognized by the International Big Cat Alliance are:
- Tiger,
- Lion,
- Snow Leopard,
- Leopard,
- Jaguar,
- Puma,
- Cheetah.
The genus of the first five among the above is the Panthera genus. They are roaring cats. Whereas, the remaining are non-roaring in nature and fall under Puma and Acinonyx respectively.
2. Do big cats purr?
The answer is “No”. Big cats’ bone structure remains very flexible. It comprises a cartilaginous hyoid bone. Their bone structure forbids the prolonged, vibrating purr.
However, they can easily roar. The opposite is true in the case of smaller cats. But exceptions always exist, and cheetah and puma are those exceptions here. They possess the ability to purr in spite of their big bodily structure.
The Conclusion – Do Black Panthers Really Exist?
Though the DNA of the suspected animals and their tooth marks on the prey point to their existence in the UK, more evidence and clues is needed to confirm it.
After all, it’s a complex phenomenon. Only limited research and its results are in our hands. With them, it’s not possible to untangle the big cat mystery in the UK overnight.
It may happen that the prints of the suspected black panthers may be the prints of some other large cats from elsewhere in Britain.
They may be leopards from some other region in Britain, or imported black panther species from Africa or other countries in the world.
So, no conclusion can be drawn in a rush. The matter needs time, more clues, expert thinking, etc, before finalizing the presence of black panthers in UK.
