Permalink Reply by Dan Carrington on Great find Rob and certainly points towards Big Cat- no native predator other than an Eagle would be able to place carcass so high up in tree ( and eagle only counts if this is in Scotland). Is the carcass partly eaten- reason i ask is that it looks like a pelt in the tree with not a lot of meat on it which might suggest a human hunter has killed the deer and skinned it;taking the meat and leaving the pelt up in tree to avoid it being taken by other animals but then the question needs to be asked why did they not take it away with them?
If this was a recent find it would be ideal for a trailcam to see what/who returned.
Permalink Reply by Rob Haynes on Half Eaten, adult Roe Deer carcass, quite a weight, this was No Moggy !!
Checked with Forestry commission wardens, they confirmed they had not done it, and I later found claw marks in surrounding trees !
In Warwickshire.
Permalink Reply by Dan Carrington on Have there been any recent sightings in the area? What with evidence that the deer has been half eaten and claw marks it makes pretty convincing case for a big cat- were the Forestry wardens interested in following this up?
Please forgive me asking this question but how high up were the claw marks on the trees as i have seen evidence of Badger claw marks quite high up where animal has stretched or actually climbed some way up the tree- i'm sure you know the difference between badger claw marks and other animals but am just looking at eliminating all the other possibilities. Any chance of a photo showing the claw marks?
Permalink Reply by Rob Haynes on Well it must have been a big Badger ! It was around 5 foot up !
I have images, I will dig them out Dan. I think the Forestry Guys went out to investigate !
I will keep you posted.
Permalink Reply by James Amos on Sounds debatable so trail cams may be the answer. Down here in Kent we have had many sheep kills over the years and I've personally seen a big black cat 3 times over the past decade. I know of many farmers that have seen them too so it is a distinct possibility. I've been meaning to do a steak out to get some good evidence (not the shaky stuff you see on the news from time to time) but without a recent sighting its hard to know where to start.
If you have the time it may be worth looking in to even if you only get some nice encounters with badgers!
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