Was St Albans big cat responsible for mutilated deer?

Could a mutilated deer corpse found in Bricket Wood be the work of the elusive St Albans big cat?

What happened to this deer? Picture: Luke Houghton - Credit: Archant

Luke Houghton, 18, was cycling in the area on Monday at about 6pm when he passed by what first appeared to be roadkill.

After taking a closer look, Luke said he is confident the remains were abandoned by a large predator.

He said: “I just thought it was roadkill at first, it just looked like a dead animal. But as I got close to it I saw it was a mauled deer. I was curious because it’s so unusual. I’ve never seen something that gruesome. I felt a bit ill too, it was pretty gory.”

Only the deer’s top half is intact, with meat stripped from its rib-cage and spine and its hind legs ripped off.

What happened to this deer? Picture: Luke Houghton - Credit: Archant

Luke added: “From the photos I don’t know what else could have done that, it would not have been a fox - that was something a bit bigger than a fox.”

He has read about big cat sightings in the Herts Ad over 2017, and believes the corpse closely resembles another carcass spotted by a dog walker in Wheathampstead in April.

“It lines up with the photos from April - the carcass looked very similar, which is interesting.”

A London Colney taxi driver also captured a video of what he believed was a big cat walking into some undergrowth by Napsbury Lane in the early hours.