Beast
of Brechfa exists
A research team conducting the first ever academic study into the
British Big Cat phenomena claims the animals do exist. And they
also believe that the creatures are breeding in our countryside.
Details of the research is revealed in Monday's BBC Wales current
affairs programme Taro 9 (Monday, 21 October).
The
programme also invited a leading US expert in the field of tracking
to find evidence of the animals in West Wales.
Tom Brown Jr, a professional tracker who runs the Tracking and Wilderness
Survival School in the US, helps police find missing persons and
fugitives.
Brown
accepted Taro 9's invitation to come over to Wales to search for
any track signs.
There
have been reported sightings of Big Cats like pumas and panthers
in West Wales and the rest of Britain for years.
But
stories like the Beast of Bodmin and the Beast of Brechfa have always
been treated with suspicion and the authorities have long-claimed
there is no evidence they exist.
Now
academics at University of Wales, Swansea, are conducting the first
ever long-term research into the subject.
And
their findings after a year-long study look likely to change the
way we think of rural Britain as a safe haven for relaxing, walking
and picnics.
Prof
Alayne Perrott, whose horse has been attacked by what is believed
to be a puma, said she thought they were now breeding.
"The most convincing evidence is the attack on our horse,"
she said. "I've taken photos to America and shown them to puma
experts and they agree that the only thing that could have been
responsible for something like that and created a bite mark like
that on a horse's neck is a puma or lynx."
The
team has compiled more than 70 big cat encounters in South Wales
alone since last October.
They
also have evidence of paw prints and photos of livestock across
South Wales which they say have all the hallmarks of a big cat attack.
The
team have also compiled a map which shows that sightings of big
cats in South Wales matches the habitat of the animals' likely prey
in Wales.
Expert
Tom Brown's verdict on the big cats will also be revealed in the
programme.
Taro
9, Monday, 21 October, BBC Wales on S4C, 8.00pm
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