Melksham big cat sightings 'could be black leopards' says expert

Reported sightings of a panther or puma in Wiltshire in the last few months could well be genuine, according to a big cat expert.

Gloucestershire-based Rick Minter, host of the Big Cat Conversations podcast, believes a reported sighting near Melksham could well be a black leopard indigenous to the Malay Peninsula.

Speaking to BBC Wiltshire, Mr Minter said people frequently described seeing a cat with a thick, tube-like tail, a boxy head and, long, muscular body slightly larger than a labrador.

Mr Minter, whose podcast examines sightings of big cats around the UK, thinks the UK may have a well-established population of leopards breeding in the wild.