Jonathan McGowan
Born in Bournemouth during the nineteen sixties and brought up in many areas of Dorset, I have gotten to know my county like the back of my hand. Being passionately interested in all things natural history, I was introduced to the subject of large non-native cats living in the UK while still a teenager, not by design but by circumstance or accident, as I watched badgers during the night… I got more than I bargained for! This set a president that led me to encounter more unusual goings-on in our countryside and suburban areas, I had more encounters and learned a lot about the subject as I indulged in my basic wildlife hobbies, leading to the realization that this subject must be delved into, the people educated, and all manner of investigations.
Since 1983, I have been at work, with escalating success in not just investigating this phenomenon but having multiple sightings, finding an inexhaustible supply of field evidence and data, which in turn led me to be well known within the subject. I have given lectures nationwide and been involved from many angles. I have been involved in wildlife conservation for the whole of my life and have worked both professionally and voluntary within these fields, including a 22-year membership with the Bournemouth natural science society and have been the chair of the zoology section for two decades, as well as helping out with curatorship of our museum specimens, president and trustee, lecturing and leading field meetings. I am a taxidermist, teacher and lecturer, philosopher, ufologist, artist, photographer, musician, and have many hobbies and interests.
I decided to write a series of books on wild living large cats in the UK, as I had so much data and believed that knowledge should be available to all, especially something as controversial as this subject. I decided that there was no field guide to identifying field evidence or guidelines from which people could work, enhancing that knowledge.
Also, realising that so many people were in the dark regarding such knowledge, and with so many skeptical minds that refused to acknowledge it, I needed to prove a few points.
In this book, I relate my observations and experiences and relay my findings regarding the numbers, behavior, and species of the animals involved, with many photographs of field evidence. One has to limit the number of photos for publication, and with my thousands of photos, I had to shortlist the whole lot, perhaps picking the best. The images in this series are only a fraction of the overall amount of field evidence I have come across. My Studies have been mainly concentrated in my home county of Dorset, but overlap Hampshire and Wiltshire, and I have investigated other areas of the UK.
Since 1983, I have been at work, with escalating success in not just investigating this phenomenon but having multiple sightings, finding an inexhaustible supply of field evidence and data, which in turn led me to be well known within the subject. I have given lectures nationwide and been involved from many angles. I have been involved in wildlife conservation for the whole of my life and have worked both professionally and voluntary within these fields, including a 22-year membership with the Bournemouth natural science society and have been the chair of the zoology section for two decades, as well as helping out with curatorship of our museum specimens, president and trustee, lecturing and leading field meetings. I am a taxidermist, teacher and lecturer, philosopher, ufologist, artist, photographer, musician, and have many hobbies and interests.
I decided to write a series of books on wild living large cats in the UK, as I had so much data and believed that knowledge should be available to all, especially something as controversial as this subject. I decided that there was no field guide to identifying field evidence or guidelines from which people could work, enhancing that knowledge.
Also, realising that so many people were in the dark regarding such knowledge, and with so many skeptical minds that refused to acknowledge it, I needed to prove a few points.
In this book, I relate my observations and experiences and relay my findings regarding the numbers, behavior, and species of the animals involved, with many photographs of field evidence. One has to limit the number of photos for publication, and with my thousands of photos, I had to shortlist the whole lot, perhaps picking the best. The images in this series are only a fraction of the overall amount of field evidence I have come across. My Studies have been mainly concentrated in my home county of Dorset, but overlap Hampshire and Wiltshire, and I have investigated other areas of the UK.
