Farmer believes puma responsible for death of sheep

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A North Wales farmer has told the local press that he has lost 10 sheep since July from what he believes is a puma stalking his farm animals. He states that they are killed by a single distinctive bite to the neck and if the carcass is left more is taken away (presumably eaten by the same animal) over the next few days.

The attacks were in the Beddgelert area of North Wales near Snowdonia. The exact location has been withheld due to fears hunters may try to go after the animal. The farmer has also said that a neighbour has had a ram killed and another neighbour (or possibly the same one as it us not stated) saw a large cat (about three times the size of a domestic cat) light brown in colour jump over a wall back in August. 

This is not the first time this area of Wales has been subject to suspected big cat attacks as in 2015 the same area of Nantmor and Beddgelert. Where more sheep had been were lost (assume killed) and a witness reported seeing a mother puma with cubs!

Area where a puma(s) have been seen since 2015

Other sightings have been reported from the East at a nature reserve outside of Wrexham and Flintshire slightly further to the North.

These sightings are about 50 - 60 miles apart and well within the radius of a roaming big cat. However it should be noted there are few if any sightings in between the two clusters and descriptions are not forthcoming so it is hard to know if these were the same animal. 

The general descriptions that have been gathered dk fit that of the Cougar/Puma and although native to the Americas and not the UK it is a generalised predator which may be able tk thrive where large apex predators are rare and food is readily available. It is also a relatively solitary animal whos hunting grounds vary with food availability. It is also relatively shy and avoids hunan contact if possible which may explain the sporadic sightings. With the average age range between 8-13 years in the wild (may be longer with favourable conditions such as found in the UK) the 2015 and 2020 sightings could be the same animal or family. This would almost certainly mean some kind of escaped animal from a private collection as no zoos have admitted to one or more escaping. 

We will keep you updated if new accounts or witnesses come forward. 

Read the full article here and some puma facts here. 

Thanks for reading.

RTI

Comments

  1. Streetlyman3 December 2020 at 17:09

    If the farmer is so worried about losing his sheep to this animal, why doesn't he want it hunted? At least he's not claiming they've been killed by a chupacabra!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MD19 February 2021 at 09:46

      I think it was more that he doesn't want people trespassing on his lad to hunt it without permission and feel they have a right to do so. He may also not want it killed just moved on

      Delete

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