Vital samples of DNA on the corpses of savaged animals could provide key clues in deciding whether or not a 'big cat' is behind the killings of two deer.
Tests: DNA samples from this roe deer corpse could help experts track down the 'big cat' responsible for its death
The 'beast of Woodchester' is feared to have struck twice after the mutilated bodies of two deer were found in the last two weeks in countryside near Stroud, Gloucestershire.
The second animal was found stripped down to its spine and without its vital organs, but experts believe they could find big cat DNA samples from the carcass as the corpse was still fresh when discovered.
The National Trust have commissioned the tests in a bid to discover whether a big cat really is at large.
David Bullock, the National Trust's head of nature conservation, contacted Robin Allaby, an evolutionary geneticist at Warwick University, who took 30 samples from the latest carcass, according to The Guardian.
Bullock told the paper he thinks it is 'perfectly possible' the tests will come back with a positive result for a big cat next week.
Bullock told The Guardian there will be health and safety issues if a big cat is found to be on the loose.
Is this it? This image of a large black animal was captured in a field in north-west Wiltshire and could be the beast that is stalking a Gloucestershire village
He said: 'We will have to assess access to our priorities.
But we would be dealing with something so elusive we probably wouldn't want to take any action unless we were directed to do so by experts or the state.
'If it keeps out the way or just bumps off a few deer, I don't think anyone would be particularly worried.'
Read more: Could DNA help National Trust track down the 'Woodchester beast' big cat? | Mail Online
Tests: DNA samples from this roe deer corpse could help experts track down the 'big cat' responsible for its death
The 'beast of Woodchester' is feared to have struck twice after the mutilated bodies of two deer were found in the last two weeks in countryside near Stroud, Gloucestershire.
The second animal was found stripped down to its spine and without its vital organs, but experts believe they could find big cat DNA samples from the carcass as the corpse was still fresh when discovered.
The National Trust have commissioned the tests in a bid to discover whether a big cat really is at large.
David Bullock, the National Trust's head of nature conservation, contacted Robin Allaby, an evolutionary geneticist at Warwick University, who took 30 samples from the latest carcass, according to The Guardian.
Bullock told the paper he thinks it is 'perfectly possible' the tests will come back with a positive result for a big cat next week.
Bullock told The Guardian there will be health and safety issues if a big cat is found to be on the loose.
Is this it? This image of a large black animal was captured in a field in north-west Wiltshire and could be the beast that is stalking a Gloucestershire village
He said: 'We will have to assess access to our priorities.
But we would be dealing with something so elusive we probably wouldn't want to take any action unless we were directed to do so by experts or the state.
'If it keeps out the way or just bumps off a few deer, I don't think anyone would be particularly worried.'
Read more: Could DNA help National Trust track down the 'Woodchester beast' big cat? | Mail Online
