Post by scotcats on Feb 18, 2005 17:18:10 GMT
HI,
In December last year I was contacted by someone who I knew as on a previous occasion had seen a big black cat on their property in the Lake District. Since seeing the cat there have been droppings left in the same place on a regular basis. We thought this to be from the cat as is typical big cat behavior, left clearly for other cats too see. When I saw the droppings they looked very much to be that of a big cat and where very similar to Leopard droppings I had seen, it was worth having them DNA tested.
I contacted Wildlife DNA Services, based at the University of Wales. They explained that the droppings had to be fresh and collected quickly after they had been left as sunlight can damage the DNA on them, as they extract the DNA from the outside of the faeces and they must of been kept in the freezer. We had done everything they had said so two weeks ago we sent the faeces to the University and they examined the droppings and said that the sample was good enough to test for DNA.
I have received the results today and have to say I am disappointed they are not from a big cat, but it is still very interesting.
Here is what they said,
From a total of 385 DNA basis, no exact match could be found on the data base. The closest match was for a wildcat specimen, which displayed 383/385 matching basis. Given the circumstances in which the sample was collected and the size of the sample, it is concluded that a wildcat is the most likely source of the faeces.
I think this is really interesting as they could not find a match on the data base. When we sent the droppings to them they were not the original size as being in the freezer they had shrunk.
My own thoughts are that we have a wildcat of some sorts that there is no match, so we dont know the size of this animal. I have attached a photo of the droppings , they are very similar in shape and size to the Leopard droppings i put up, maybe indicating that the animal is of similar size, as a wildcat is not that much bigger than a domestic and have had two cats for years and never have they done a feaces this size.
It is also interesting that we have the sighting from Dr Huchtinson who has a PHD in Zoologly, was 50 yards from a black big cat and he could not identify it as a species other than a large domestic, except this was 2 ft high.
I don't know if the results have helped us in anyway or just made things even more mind blowing.
Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.
I am putting a remote camera in the area.Where the cat leaves the droppings is in an enclosed area so it will have to walk past the camera, so hopefully we will have a photo of it.
Best Wishes![]()
scat from the lakes.jpg[/img]
Chris
In December last year I was contacted by someone who I knew as on a previous occasion had seen a big black cat on their property in the Lake District. Since seeing the cat there have been droppings left in the same place on a regular basis. We thought this to be from the cat as is typical big cat behavior, left clearly for other cats too see. When I saw the droppings they looked very much to be that of a big cat and where very similar to Leopard droppings I had seen, it was worth having them DNA tested.
I contacted Wildlife DNA Services, based at the University of Wales. They explained that the droppings had to be fresh and collected quickly after they had been left as sunlight can damage the DNA on them, as they extract the DNA from the outside of the faeces and they must of been kept in the freezer. We had done everything they had said so two weeks ago we sent the faeces to the University and they examined the droppings and said that the sample was good enough to test for DNA.
I have received the results today and have to say I am disappointed they are not from a big cat, but it is still very interesting.
Here is what they said,
From a total of 385 DNA basis, no exact match could be found on the data base. The closest match was for a wildcat specimen, which displayed 383/385 matching basis. Given the circumstances in which the sample was collected and the size of the sample, it is concluded that a wildcat is the most likely source of the faeces.
I think this is really interesting as they could not find a match on the data base. When we sent the droppings to them they were not the original size as being in the freezer they had shrunk.
My own thoughts are that we have a wildcat of some sorts that there is no match, so we dont know the size of this animal. I have attached a photo of the droppings , they are very similar in shape and size to the Leopard droppings i put up, maybe indicating that the animal is of similar size, as a wildcat is not that much bigger than a domestic and have had two cats for years and never have they done a feaces this size.
It is also interesting that we have the sighting from Dr Huchtinson who has a PHD in Zoologly, was 50 yards from a black big cat and he could not identify it as a species other than a large domestic, except this was 2 ft high.
I don't know if the results have helped us in anyway or just made things even more mind blowing.
Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.
I am putting a remote camera in the area.Where the cat leaves the droppings is in an enclosed area so it will have to walk past the camera, so hopefully we will have a photo of it.
Best Wishes
Chris
