'Puma' Photograph, Cornwall November 1997

November 1997: St Austell, Cornwall / England.
This photograph recently taken is claimed to be that of a puma living wild in Cornwall, St Austell.

There apparently were tracks and droppings found which were promptly sent off for analysis.
Many experts claimed that the photograph was "breathtaking and conclusive proof." Mike Thomas of Newqay Zoo said: "It is definitely a puma and it looks very fat, fit and contented. The size of its head suggests it is a female, and it may be pregnant," he said.
"This is not the first time I have been shown an anonymous photo of a puma. If only we knew who had taken it and where it was, it would be easier to verify. "But we know there are big cats out there, and along with the faeces and paw prints we already have, this is yet another piece in the jigsaw."
Plymouth vet Nigel Taylor said if the latest pictures were real, they were the best ever of a big cat in Cornwall. "As soon as I saw those pictures I knew it was a puma," he said. "If that's a domestic cat, I'd like to see the number of tins of Whiskas it eats every day."
Trevor Beer said the picture looked genuine, although he would have liked to have seen the cat in more poses."It does look very, very good. If the measurements of that branch are correct, then the cat would be about two and a half feet tall, which is the normal height." "It could be a young one, but I really wouldn't like to say. I would love to see a better shot."
The general opinion was that this animal was a female puma - possible pregnant, also some see behind the cat a smaller cat curled up in a ball and by the markings, assume it to be a cub. The picture was given to Cornish Guardian Editor Alan Cooper by a reader who has seen the pumas on a regular basis. It was taken by shooting the camera through a pair of binoculars.
Another long-range panoramic photograph shows the puma sitting on its haunches. This shot has not been released, as the photographer does not want the exact location revealed.
He said: "My wife and I first saw the cats locally on Christmas Day last year. We saw them again two weeks later and several times afterwards, until they disappeared with the arrival of holiday makers around Easter this year."
The animals appeared for an hour or two after daybreak on cold sunny mornings, as if for a spot of sunbathing. They were last seen at this location around two weeks ago. "I mentioned these animals to other people and, comparing sightings, it does seem that these two have been spotted four or five miles away. "These animals are very shy. Nobody here would like to disturb them. We do not want to attract gun or camera shooters."
Mr Cooper, who published the above picture yesterday, said he was convinced the pictures were genuine.
"I have no doubt about their authenticity - if I had then I wouldn't have printed them," he said. "I was talking to this chap about a completely different matter when the subject came up - it was round about the time of other sightings, and I asked if he had pictures.
"The phone has been going mad all day with national papers wanting the photos. He is a very honest guy, who doesn't want to make money out this - any profits will go to charity."

Not everbody was convinced of the pictures authenticity, nameley zoologist Chris Moiser and photographic expert Paul Crowther. I quote from an article in Fortean Times published several years in later in July 2005 of the particulars of the incident by Chris Moiser.

..."Photographer Paul Crowther (also the photographic consultant to the Scottish Big Cat Society and the Center for Fortean Zoology) and I looked at the photo in detail and sent a report to the newspaper concerned. Our critiicism of the photograph was not particularly well received - in fat, we were labelled Mr Pompous and Mr Arrogant. However we were invited to the newspaper office concerned and had a pleasant lunch with the editor and sub-editor. We were then shown some other pictures which were not to be published (they identified the location) - these did provide a size reference - and I was able to calculate that the animal, far from being a puma, was the size of a large domestic cat.
Certain technical irregularities in the picture were also satisfactorily explained at this meeting. The photographer did not have a telephoto lens or an expensive camera, so he had brought together his camera and a pair of binoculars, in a somewhat precarious manner, to obtain the picture (definitely nine out of ten for effort!). From the zoological point of view, the main problem was that, although the subject was clearly feline, it was not a puma; it was most likely an Abysinian Cat, one of the larger and wilder looking breeds of domestic cat.

The paper published the comments above made by Chris and Paul which in turn provoked a response from the still anonymous photographer that the pictures were genuine, he was not changing his stance.
It wasn't until a year later that the truth finally came out when the cats owner told Chris that his neighbour had taken the photograph.

Sources:
Western Morning News: Fortean Times: Chris Moiser: Paul Crowther: