Do big cats exist in the UK? Netflix Tiger King expert has captured the evidence on video and says yes

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A star of Netflix's hit show Tiger King says new evidence of a big cat is 'definite' proof of their existence in the UK.

Kelci 'Saff' Saffery, who starred alongside Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin in 'Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem & Madness’ believes Eurasian Lynx are living in England. This comes after Lewis Dailly believes he spotted the animal in the countryside in Coniston, Cumbria over the recent New Years period.

Eurasian Lynxes were once native in Britain but it's thought they died out around 1,400 years ago. However, there are multipe sightings of these animals in the British countryside each year and fresh footage now appears to show the cat wandering round.

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And now Saff, who lost his arm after being horribly injured by a 42-stone tiger, says recent evidence of paw prints is 'definitely a cat.' He said: “The paw print is definitely a cat, what with the lack of claws. Even the way the front paw semi-aligns with the back paw in stride.”

Lewis was visiting the area with his family when he looked out of the window of the holiday cottage and spotted 'something moving' in the bushes. He then started filming the mystery creature but before he could show a family member, it had 'gone into the bushes.'

Courtesy Tim Whittard / SWNS

Lewis, of Wolverhampton, West Mids,.said: “I just looked out my back window from the holiday cottage I’m staying at and I saw something moving. So I quickly grabbed my iPad and started filming because it looked and moved bigger than a domestic cat. I tried to get a family member, then it gone in to the bushes”.

Even though several people have agreed that Lewis saw a big cat, a few others have criticised the quality of the video. According to Lewis, 'it's not as easy' to get the footage but he said he's now 'on the lookout' to see the animal again.

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He said: "It’s not as easy as people think to get a photo or footage. I’ve went up there to check for tracks, but wasn’t successful. I’m here for another week so I’m gonna be on the lookout."

Courtesy Tim Whittard / SWNS

Lewis posted his findings on Facebook and Samuel Moore commented on the post, claiming he spotted a 'big black cat' in the area, seven years ago. He said: "I must admit I saw a big black cat in Coniston 7 years ago, not too far from the lake. It was by the school, it jumped over into the other field, was a big black cat and there’s perfect habitat round there”.

This incident comes after a new video was released of a lynx roaming around the Cheviot Hills near the England and Scottish border a few years ago. Tim Whittard, who produced the award-winning documentary ‘Panthera Britannia Declassified’ say both videos portray 'several aspects consistent with lynx-type cats.'

He said: “These videos, while lacking resolution and not being the best quality, both portray several aspects consistent with lynx-type cats. The most obvious being the lack of a pronounced tail of significant length”.

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Carl Marshall, who starred in the Amazon Video documentary, also agrees with Tim and says he has seen 'plenty of credible evidence' they exist. He said: “Reports of big cat sightings have been fairly consistent in Britain now for several decades. Even though the lynx is the least reported of the British big cats, I have seen plenty of credible evidence for them, and have even found suspected lynx tracks myself”.

Carl found suspected lynx tracks while he was looking for wild boar in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, in late 2019.

He said: “Healthy dog tracks are usually symmetrical. If this track was canine in origin, then two straight sticks should sit neatly between the first and second toes, and the third and fourth toes, and cross diagonally, without touching either edge of the rear plantar pad, nor any of the adjacent toes”. If I had some plaster with me I would have taken casts. "I wish I had some with me at the time.”

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