Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop

THE DISTRIBUTION OF PERCEIVED ENCOUNTERS WITH NON-NATIVE CATS IN
SOUTH AND WEST WALES, UK: RELATIONSHIP TO MODELED HABITAT
SUITABILITY
A.B. SMITH, Exotic Cat Group, Geography Department, University of Wales Swansea,
Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK, email: exoticcatproject@swan.ac.uk
F.A. STREET PERROTT, Exotic Cat Group, Geography Department, University of Wales
Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
T. HOOPER, Exotic Animals Register, 85 Risedale Road, Ashton Vale, Bristol BS3 2RB, UK
Abstract: Reports of perceived encounters with exotic cats in the British countryside have
greatly increased in recent years. The species described (notably melanistic leopards, pumas and
lynxes) were widely bred in the UK prior to the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act, and do not
correspond to those most familiar to the general public (such as lions, tigers and cheetahs).
Some of them are still being illegally imported or reared for ‘canned hunts’. Following the
recent discovery of leopard tracks in West Wales, and calls for action by Members of the UK
Parliament and the Welsh National Assembly, the Welsh Agriculture Department has officially
begun to collect statistics on sightings and livestock kills. In this independent study, we have
analysed a database of 170 georeferenced encounter reports obtained from the police, news
media and members of the public. In the absence of confirmatory DNA, physical or photographic
evidence, encounter reports require very careful screening for reliability, based on the
characteristics of the witness(es); the validity of the identification, taking into account perceived
cat size and shape (morphotype) and behaviour; indicators of scale, distance and lighting
conditions; and the suitability of the habitat. The distributions of potential habitats within South
and West Wales have been modelled with a GIS using standard habitat characteristics, such as
prey-species presence, disturbance levels, geomorphology and land-use data. The spatial pattern
of encounters does not show the clustering that might be expected if they represent a purely
sociological phenomenon. Instead, the distributions of specific morphotypes appear to be closely
related to the degree of habitat suitability, thereby strengthening the case for the presence of nonnative
cat species in the UK.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MOUNTAIN LION WORKSHOP
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