I was sent this photo of a muntjac carcass – possible big cat kill(?) – found in Dunwich, Suffolk on 01/03/2026.
An ecologist who’s an expert on big cats told me they’re 80% certain it’s a big cat kill. The copyright holder of the image is known to me, more information on the find to follow. I will have to be vague on exactly where it was found in Dunwich for the moment.
The expert opinion is that the way the organs are eaten out is very clinical, like a big cat kill. But the wounds inflicted on the face could be from a dog and the way the limbs are scattered is “messy” in a way that’s not typical of big cats. I am not able to name the expert at the moment, I may be able to later.
There are deer culls (both muntjacs and red deer) in Dunwich Forest, and butchery sites in the forest where the corpses are cut up for disposal have been found, so the find could have something to do with these culls. I am investigating further.
There have been sightings of big cats around Dunwich but these were mostly some years ago, around the late 2010s, with the discovery of possible big cat kills signs as well as multiple sightings of a black leopard – including one by a warden – at Dunwich Heath National Trust nature reserve.