FOR many years people have wondered if big cats wander the the wilds of Dartmoor ? this year that question could be answered. The television company Endemol ? responsible for Big Brother and Ready, Steady, Cook ? will this summer attempt a massive hunt to try and solve the mystery of Devon and Cornwall?s big cats. With state of the art equipment, teams will set up hides and follow leads from people on the ground and the air, following a spate of sightings in recent years. ?The Search for Britain?s Cats?, the new high profile series for Channel Five, has focused its efforts on the next few months to find sightings, and will start filming this Autumn. The presenter for the show is Chagford-based naturalist Nick Baker, who has been a presenter on the BBC?s ?The Really Wild Show? since 1996. Nick said: ?There are hundreds of stories of sightings out there and lots of hoaxes. I?ve made it my mission to find the truth. ?Of course we?ve all heard stories and legends about big cat sightings. But I believe that amongst all the myths there is a grain of truth ? these cats really are out there.? The team of experts wish this ?first of a kind? show to be a real event for the residents in the South West. ?We need any help we can get ? the odds are stacked against us! The big cats are a very low-density population scattered over a wide area so we really need people to get in touch with their reports and sightings,? said Nick. Trekkers from abroad will be helping the team in their attempts to find any traces of the wild animals by looking for spots of scratching on trees or signs of big cats feeding. They will use high-tech, up-to-date tracking methods to get to the bottom of the subject and locate these elusive cats. Nick said: ?We?re not trying to catch or tag one of these cats, we simply want to prove that they really do exist and catch them on film. ?It?s not a one-off media stunt, we are approaching the subject very logically and scientifically.? Andy Cadman, assistant producer, said: ?The main thing we are trying to do is prove that big cats do exist in the wild and prove that the myths and legends are true.? Figures released in March by the British Big Cats Society (BBCS) revealed that 2,123 sightings were reported between April 2004 and July 2005, and at the top of the national list was Devon with 132 sightings. To contribute to the programme West Devon residents have the chance to look for the cats with the Big Cat Track Pack ? available on the show?s website, http://www.five.tv/bigcatsearch">www.five.tv/bigcatsearch If anyone wishes to contact the hotline confidentially regarding any sightings, call 0870 333 9083.
