DNA from a black hair caught on a barbwire fence following a sheep attack has offered 'definitive proof' big cats are roaming the West Country countryside.
The strands were sent off for testing after being recovered from a farm in Gloucestershire where there had been some "unusual predatory" activity. Suspicion was raised when video footage of a large black animal was also captured only a few miles away from where the sample was taken.
And documentary-makers, who had been investigating sightings across the UK, say the test has now come back 'positive' and confirmed the existence of black panthers and other big cats living in the UK. A forensic laboratory took on the species identification task and used mitochondrial DNA analysis to ascertain a 99 per cent match to a big cat species.
