From STV:
Builder John Robertson, 50, stumbled across the rotting carcass on a path in Cullen, Moray, while out with his wife, Pauline, and their two dogs on Monday morning.
On a nearby cliff-top lay the mangled remains of half a dozen seagulls which appear to have been the beast’s last meal before it plunged to its death below.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said. “I have never seen so many dead birds in one area.
“They were completely mauled, they had their guts totally ripped out of them lying on the ground.
“Then a little further on we came across a horrible rotting smell which was this big cat. It looks like it’s feasted on the seagulls and maybe it has fallen down the cliff nearby, injured itself and just lay there till it died.”
John’s eye was caught by the frightening sharp teeth and 18 inch-long tail, but he said the most terrifying thing of all was that it may have been a cub.
“I didn’t have a tape measurer on me to measure the tail, but I’m a builder so I have a pretty good idea that it’s about 18 inches long.
“I reckon it’s a cub though, its teeth are too clean and there isn’t enough damage to them, which means they must be pretty new. You can imagine how big it’s mother would be.
“I’m sure we’ll find out from the DNA tests what type of cat it is, but it certainly seems like one of the big cats.”
I hate to burst anyone’s bubble.
But it’s not any kind of cat.
It’s a Eurasian otter.
You can see the extensive webbing between the toes hasn’t rotted away, and the head clearly has the wedge shape of a Eurasian otter. The tail is also long and flat and possesses a pointed tip.
None of these traits are indicative of a big cat.
It’s an otter.
Otters are making a comeback in the United Kingdom, and Scotland is one of their strongholds.
Confusing this animal with any kind of cat shows that the knowledge about the natural world is quite limited among the public.
This isn’t even a particularly decomposed carcass. One can still see that it has definite otter characteristics.
But no, it must be a big cat.
It’s good for headlines, and it’s good for getting attention.
But I don’t think it helps the discourse at all.
Misidentifying decomposed carcasses is a major problem in the modern internet-driven world.
At least they didn’t contrive this animal into something so bizarrely impossible that it would have to be the result of extraterrestrials or some nefarious government cover up.
You know, like the Montauk monster.
This is of a cloth w/ all the “chupacabra” carcasses that have been found of late. This is obviously an otter, but its much more exciting to assume it a big cat of some kind.
We don`t do much in the “alien animal” line over here. But we do do “big cat” scares surprisingly often. Always a cat, usually black. Often spotted at twilight. Sometimes photographed (badly) in a setting that conveniently doesn`t give any scale.
Maybe “big cat” is our version of Bigfoot?
Elizabeth
Just more evidence of the disconnect between modern “civilized” humans and the natural world.
Ha! Reminds me of the time I was walking on the beach and a woman came running up to me and said, “I found a human foot! It’s over there! OMG, OMG, should I call the police?”
I went to look at it and it was a seal flipper.
Given that the majority of people have zero experience with anything beyond a cat, dog or parakeet, it’s not surprising one might mistake a dead otter for a “big cat”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Nat Geo, BBC (and similar) wildlife programs mention otters taking birds. So an otter doing this would be “out of character” even for those who pay attention to the average “wild world” programs. I’ve heard plenty of accounts of people mistaking cattle for horses or deer, getting any bird other than a pigeon wrong and being unable to tell sheep from goats. Why would one presume that the average hiker would have a clue?
I think they should. One of the reasons one sees bizarre “rights” ideas is because the sole experience of those involved is via the TV Documentary or worse, something like “Escape to Madagascar” and “happy feet”. They have little or no clue about the actual real animals. The more urban our population becomes, the less “connected” they will be to real nature.
I think the key here is the deaths of seagulls. I have never heard of an otter taking seagulls, and have difficulty in imagining it.
And given such unexplained animal deaths, I`m afraid the “big cat” assumption is the natural UK response. No idea why. But remember, our apex predator is the red fox. No-one here should be expected to have a clue about real big cats.
Elizabeth.
Tracks and scat ought to tell the story. When one runs across a big cat paw print its pretty obvious what caused it. With the exception of Cheetahs, cats can and do retract their claws when walking. Other large mammals such as bears and canids leave claw marks in their prints. Scat tends to be unique to species and it provides DNA. I assume that nobody in GB has found any of either that point to big cats?
Some leopard hair was discovered in Devon:
http://www.strangeunknown.com/paranormal/cfz-hairs-found-at-huddisford-woods-devon-identified-as-leopard/
That’s about all they have.
I too am appalled at the disconnect between the average person and the natural world. My youngest daughter, who is a 6th grade teacher and an avid environmentalist (gee I wonder where she got that?) has told me that many of the boys in her classes are afraid of insects and spiders. I just can’t feature that. I lived and breathed ‘bugs’ when I was that age.
That wasn’t me in the sixth grade. I was afraid of spiders, but I since got over it.
I never was afraid of insects.
Another view of the “big cat” phenomenon:
http://www.ukbigcats.co.uk/
Elizabeth
It is a kind of archeology to examine photos for real clues that lead to proper identification. I can clearly see the webbed foot. Good job!
In my other life, I am a pearl expert and often examine photos for clues as to what kind of pearl it is- out of at least a dozen possible pearl mollusk species. An amazing amount of info can be had from photos.
I remember reading of, but can’t locate, a study that found the average American (USA) can identify N-thousand brand names but only six native plants. Rings true. . . and not just for the USA.
That’s one reason that my buddies didn’t want to do a foraging-only hike along the Appalachian Trail w/o me–they were afraid they’d either starve to death or poison themselves (LOL).
Fortunately, I did manage to train my kids and a lot of Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Explorer Scouts & others how to recognize both edible and toxic plants–and how to prepare the edible ones for consumption. I also taught a number of Green Beret Reservists, whose previous education in that department was limited to those plants endemic to S.E. Asia (only two of these, purslane and bamboo–neither is native–were likely to be found in the US.) They, in turn, taught me how to build a fish weir from twigs, how to field-dress a variety of game animals, and how to rappel–great fun!
My daughter continues the plant identification tradition w/ her students.