MORE people are likely to see big cats in Dorset than any other county in England, an expert said today.

Author Merrily Harpur, of Cattistock, has spent 10 years studying and recording sightings of what are believed to be either panther, lynx or puma in the wild.

She believes recent sightings by Forestry Commission experts in Gloucester may convince sceptics that there really are big cats roaming the countryside.

Ms Harpur said: “The only reason the Gloucester sightings got so much attention is because it was the Forestry Commission’s own surveyors but hundreds of normal people have seen these big cats much closer up.

“In Dorset, witnesses include police officers, game keepers, shepherds – people with a good understanding of what wildlife should and shouldn’t be there. They’re an unproved certainty.”

She added: “There’s been thousands of sightings throughout the United Kingdom. But Dorset is a hotspot for big cat sightings, even in broad daylight.

“We have a higher chance of seeing a big cat, per head of population, than any other county in England.”

Mrs Harpur’s book, Roaring Dorset! Encounters with Big Cats, explores how the real mystery is where the felines come from and theories include 19th-century travelling circuses and wild cats escaped from collections.

Mrs Harpur said: “The earliest recorded mention of a big cat in the county dates back to 1907.

“There have been 223 reported sighting in Dorset in the past eight to 10 years.

“We’ve had big clusters of sightings around Bridport, Weymouth and Dorchester.

“And the ones that get reported are only the tip of the iceberg.”

Mrs Harpur said one of the most vivid sightings came from a police officer in 2006.

The officer was out riding with her two dogs near Dorchester when she saw a golden brown puma-like cat, 6ft long and 2.6ft high.

In the 1960s, fishermen at Lulworth reported a black panther picking its way along the white cliffs and jumping the little crevices.

Mrs Harpur is keen to hear from anyone who has witnessed a big cat, especially with photographic evidence.

To contact Mrs Harpur call 01300 320064 or visit her website www.dorsetbigcats.org Roaring Dorset! Encounters With Big Cats costs £4.99 and is published by Roving Press.

To get a copy call 01300 321531 or visit www.rovingpress.co.uk

Mrs Harper is giving a talk on Big Cats Roaming Dorset next month at Weymouth Library’s Mulberry Gallery at 10.30am on Wednesday, February 25.

Entry fee costs £1 for Friends of Weymouth Library members and £2 for non-members.