Mysterious Black Cats Roam UK Wilderness: New Habitat for Big Cats?

It's always exciting to come across new and intriguing videos on the internet, and this one from the YouTube channel Deborah Hatswell #BBR is no exception. The video, titled "Two Positive DNA Samples for Large Cats in UK = Ex Police Officer Sees Large Cat," discusses the increasing sightings of large, non-native cats in the UK. According to the video, each week brings a new headline or photograph of a suspected panther or leopard. Members of the public, including dog walkers, drivers, farmers, hikers, and hill runners, have reported encounters with these creatures. Some have even been attacked by them. The video goes on to mention a case from 2003 in Lincolnshire, where a DNA sample was taken from an abandoned caravan in the garden of a retired couple named Sunday and Julie Richardson. The sample was tested at two labs and revealed that the hairs belonged to an animal from the leopard family. The couple had filmed a large black cat frequenting their garden before calling the police, who attempted to capture the animal. In 2020-2022, in Gloucestershire, several strands of black animal hair were collected from a barbed wire fence following a sheep attack. The hair was tested using mitochondrial DNA methods and was found to be a 99.9% match to a leopard. A jawbone of the sheep, which had tooth marks on it, was also sent for analysis and confirmed as potentially belonging to a big cat. These cases, along with others mentioned in the video, suggest that large cats are not only surviving but thriving in the wilds of the UK. However, the government has yet to officially acknowledge their presence. It's fascinating to consider the possibility of large cats living in the UK, and the video from Deborah Hatswell #BBR does an excellent job of presenting the evidence and sparking curiosity. If you're interested in learning more, be sure to check out the video for yourself.