Exotic animals, including big cats, are on the prowl in West, says Eden report
Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 09:00

A host of exotic animals – including big cats living in the Westcountry – are thriving in the British countryside, according to a wildlife report published yesterday.

Dozens of species, whose natural habitats usually range from the Amazonian rainforest to the Australian Outback, are now at home among Britain's flora and fauna.

Among the top ten in The Eden Wildlife Report are big cats, with an estimated population in excess of 50. Scores of sightings have been recorded in Devon and Cornwall over the years, although many more are thought never to have been reported.

Fears persist that continued growth in populations of exotic species could directly impact on native species or contribute to loss of habitat.

The report's author, Dr Toni Bunnell of the University of Hull, who is an expert in mammal conservation, said there was cause for concern.

She said: "The report shows that a number of exotic, non-native species currently existing in the wild in the UK are considered to pose a threat to some indigenous species."

The report was based on official recorded sightings and population numbers for creatures introduced into the country over the last 150 years. Sources included the country's environmental watchdog Natural England.

The largest population of exotic animals is in south-east England, which has become home to between 30,000 and 50,000 ring-necked parakeets.

More obscure animals residing in the UK include Brazilian aardvarks, with around ten believed to be living wild in Cumbria, and snapping turtles, which were first identified in a garden pond in 1993.

One theory for the animals being in the British wild is that owners of exotic pets released them when the Dangerous Animals Act came onto the statute book.

Adrian Wills, of the Eden Channel, which commissioned the research, said: "It's fascinating to see how Britain has become a haven for these exotic creatures."

A list published by Natural England earlier this year contained several reports from Devon and Cornwall over the past five years, ranging from big cats to wild boar and even a wallaroo – a kind of kangaroo. Numerous sightings of wild boar in Devon, linked to a deliberate release from a farm at South Molton, were regarded as confirming the existence of "exotic species".

However, Natural England ruled out the existence of big cats in the wilds of the Westcountry, despite countless sighting claims by members of the public, saying "the evidence of all the sightings we have been asked to look at has either been inconclusive or attributed to other causes".