JUST when you thought it was safe to go back in the woods… a fresh wave of big cat sightings has left Brits terrified.

Dramatic doorbell footage of a 'black panther' stalking a Cheshire neighbourhood last week was just the latest in a string of sightings across the UK in recent months.

And while over the years, debate has raged over whether grainy pictures and videos can conclusively prove that big beasts are on the prowl, experts insist they are lurking in our countryside.

Leading wildcat expert Rick Minter, who has investigated the mysterious creatures' movements for 20 years, claims that there could be as many as 1,000 fierce felines hiding in forests around the country.

The environmental consultant features in new documentary, Britain's Big Cat Mystery, which uses DNA analysis and photographic evidence to 'prove' that fearsome creatures from black leopards to pumas and lynxes live in our woods.

"It's a crucial issue," Rick tells The Sun. "How do we come to terms with living alongside big cats in Britain?"

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“It's hard to judge how they are distributed. Deer is their main food source, so they are everywhere in the UK in reasonable numbers."

“Three sightings this month alone’

It is estimated that there are 2,000 reported big cat sightings each year, but this month a number of incidents have sparked fears the creatures could be growing bolder.

Rick says it's possible that the animals could have "roamed into new areas" in the wake of lockdowns, but believes human activity could have caused a shift too.

"Green spaces on town edges became busier with people doing more local walks, which would disturb large cats and their main prey, deer."

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There have been three sightings in the last few weeks, including homeowner Luke Hickman, 30, who recorded a "black panther" outside his home in Newton, Cheshire.

Doorbell camera footage showed the creature – bigger than the average house moggy – with a long and curved tail move from behind his car before vanishing out of sight.

Two days earlier, Julie Murphy, who lives 10 minutes away, near Warrington, spotted an animal matching Luke’s description when it “charged” at her vehicle. 

“Even though it was dark, I could tell it wasn’t a fox,” she told the Warrington Guardian.

Rick, who runs the Big Cat Conversations podcast, says the predators “very occasionally venture into urban areas at quiet times” in the search for food. 

He added: “This is probably due to a big cat having a nearby territory and occasionally diverting to the urban edges.”

Earlier this month, Josh Williams, 17, thought he filmed a “big black cat… feeding on something like a dead animal” while camping near Mermaid’s Pool, in the Peak District.

He told the Stoke Sentinel that he heard an “occasional crunching” sound on the footage, which he believed was “most likely a sheep” being eaten.

‘Most conclusive evidence’ 

Britain's Big Cat Mystery gathers together some of the nation's most compelling photo and video evidence that wildcats are roaming free in our countryside.

They included John Bilney's 2020 photos of a big cat's torso, which expert Trevor McKenzie said was "the most conclusive piece of evidence" he had seen.

He said the trail cam shots showed “a juvenile mountain lion or puma” and added: “There is no doubt in my mind.”

Matt Smith's 2016 photo, snapped in Devon, was also highlighted for depicting rose-like markings on a creature's fur that are typically associated with a big cat.

An odd cameo comes from Tiger King star Kelci Saffery, who claims Coryn Memory's 2009 picture from Gloucestershire depicts "a small or juvenile mountain lion or leopard".

Defleshed foals, stalker prints & DNA proof

The documentary also examines compelling physical evidence, including 240 bone samples collected by Professor Andrew Hemmings, from the Royal Agricultural University.

They come from "defleshed carcasses" and feature teeth marks that appear to originate from the powerful jaws of a big cat.

Field naturalist Jonathan McGown found a "beautiful double footprint" in Devon, from a big cat stalking its prey.

The overlapping imprints are called ‘direct register’ – when cats' front and rear paws tread in the same footprint to reduce the noise.

Jonathan takes a mould and experts conclude the prints are from a “large non-native species” – likely a big cat due to its circular toes and the double register. 

Big cat sightings in 2022 so far

Abersoch, Wales – ‘black puma’ spotted in a house garden in September. Police were called because the area was ‘chock-full of tourists’. 

Anglesey, Wales – big cat spotted, and the grisly remains of a fully-grown sheep were found nearby in September.

Barnby Dun, Doncaster – animal the size of a 'small Great Dane' spotted in June.

Bawtry, Doncaster – a ‘still black animal’ spotted running through Sutton cum Lound, in October.

Burwell, Cambridgeshire – ‘leopard’ with ‘cat-like movements’ photographed walking through a field in August.

Cannock Chase, Staffordshire – ‘black puma’ spotted twice by a local big cat investigator who laid traps to collect DNA in September.

Cantley, Yorkshire – ‘large black animal’ chased an 11-year-old boy in the woods in May.

Cornwall – two sightings – one looked like a panther and the other a bobcat or a lynx in February.

Doncaster – ‘four-foot long’ big cat seen near McDonald’s drive-thru in January. 

Gainsborough, Lincolnshire – two ‘large’ beasts seen stood over dead chickens after 'distressed clucking' at 3am, in July

Huntington, Cambridgeshire – ‘unusually large cat’ spotted that ‘appeared to be stalking something’ in August.

Mold, Wales – ‘very large jet black cat’ spotted during early morning walk in September.

North Berwick, Scotland – 'large black cat’ spotted at a caravan park in September.

Peak District, Derbyshire – 'confident big cat' captured on thermal footage in June.

Pencaitland, Scotland – ‘huge puma-sized’ cat spotted in a field, in August.

Prestatyn, Wales – ‘black panther’ spotted hunting for rabbits and birds on the beach, in April.

Reading, Berkshire – wild big cat jumped in front of a woman, she saw it twice in one day, in August.

Rhyl, Wales – ‘panther’ spotted walking on a footpath between Ysgol Tir Morfa and Brickfield Pond in September.

Rhyl, Wales – ‘black panther’ run-in, in August.

Robins Wood Hill, Gloucestershire – animal with ‘pointed ears’ spotted drinking from a stream before disappearing ‘in a flash’, in September.

Stroud, Gloucestershire – ‘Labrador-sized’ black cat in broad daylight near a car park, in June.

Warrington, Cheshire – ‘big black’ animal with a long curved tail recorded by Luke Hickman, in October.

Warrington, Cheshire – 'panther' spotted by Julie Murphy while driving home in October.

The documentary team requests access to one of the samples, a Devon hare from 2009, and sends it to Dr Todd Disotell, a biological anthropologist and molecular geneticist.

Results from the DNA testing conclude it was a Panthera Pardus – more commonly known as a leopard.

"So either indeed a leopard was running around in Devon when this was collected or somebody hoaxed or planted this DNA," Dr Disotell adds.

'They don't want a fight'

Rick says he has personally heard of 1,400 credible accounts of big cats in the UK over the last decade, but believes they are the "tip of the iceberg" as most go unreported.

Despite the recent sightings, he insists these big cats are “shy and wary animals” and not “large predators on the loose”.

He said: “They are far more scared of us and most often they are just trying to move humans away from their territory.

“They don’t want to risk getting injured from an encounter with humans or machines, and so they live in the shadows, hidden away."

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“If they are drawn into urban areas, domestic-size cats may be taken unfortunately but this happens very rarely. 

“They have an abundance of natural prey available – especially deer – so they don’t need to adapt their behaviour to scavenge regularly.”

Britain’s Big Cat Mystery airs at 9pm on Friday October 25.

Where did the big cats come from?

EXOTIC animals have been imported here since the days of the British empire, but their popularity boomed in the 1960s.

It was "extremely fashionable" to own a big cat, but by 1976, the Government clamped down with the Dangerous Wild Animals Act.

The law ensured the 'pets' had to be registered and provided with suitable living conditions.

Many pets were surrendered to zoos and those that couldn't find a new home were put down.

As a result, some owners released big cats into the wild – including Lew Fowley, who moved his pride of lions from Birmingham to the Moors and Malvern Hills.

TV animal trainer Mary Chipperfield allegedly set several animals free into the Dartmoor wilderness.

Abandoning animals in the countryside wasn't illegal due to a loophole, which was amended by 1981.

As legislation tightened further over the decades, Rick Minter claims more big cats were released into the wild.

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