BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

[Twilliger]

I'm living in Ireland. I live on a sheep farm and the biggest thing I've ever shot is a fox. In recent weeks there has been sitings of a big cat in the area. Some say it's a black panther and others say a giant cat. I came across its tracks on my farm and to be honest I've never seen tracks this big before. It has to be a panther. Can anyone advise me on what bait to use and how I can stop this cat killing any more of my sheep or even a small child in the future.

[Hammer1]

I have no idea as to what wild animals live in Ireland or what it could be, but by your post you say it is killing sheep. Well if so, it is leaving hair and other evidence at the kill sight regardless of what it is. Contact your Dept of Natural resources or whoever deals with wildlife. They can take, or have a field expert attend and take, samples for DNA testing. Testing will tell what species of animal, sometimes sex ,etc.
testing should not take more than a few days or so... that is where I would start.

WELCOME to BGH :)

[GBoyd]

I would find someone who runs hounds and see if the dogs will track it. I guess you probably don't have hounds that are used to cats over there, but maybe fox dogs would work. That way, instead of shooting it from a distance, you could tree it and get a good ID.

Hammer's advice is probably better, but mine is more fun.

[Twilliger]

Thanks for the advice guys. What kind of roaming distance could these cats cover?

[ChesterGolf]

I don't think your particular pather will roam very far because of the solid food source(sheep) but here is some info on the animals that may be helpful. I'd look for local trappers to help with the problem. Chances are they or somebody they know have trapped one in the past and will know the way to do it.

[Kudubull]

You have a better chance of getting struck by lighting 10X then seeing a large panther in Ireland. I know a few exotic pets were released 4 years ago but they could not survive without human help. More than likely your sheep are brought down by a twisted human not a panther. Consider yourself lucky if you see or take a picture of a panther in Ireland as they must be hanging around with bigfoot and the lockness monster.

[Romey]

Get some pictures of the tracks with something of a referance point to go by. Pictures of a kill sight would help too. Panthers , mountain lions ect have a specific way of bringing down game that other cats dont.