MADAM – As someone interested in researching big cat sightings, I take your point about phone camera evidence but if you really give that some thought (and talk to your staff photographer), you’ll realise why so little footage exists.

Most sightings last just a few seconds.

By the time the witness has registered what he/she is looking at, there’s little time left to get a phone out, input the PIN, find the camera app, switch it on, wait to it to load, then begin filming or snapping.

Also, most sighting occur early morning or late evening, at which time the light is poor, and in any case, camera phones have wide-angle lenses, making already midrange subjects look like specks.

As for road kill, ask yourself this – as there are almost infinitely more house cats than, say, badgers and hedgehogs, you would think we would see dead cats on the road every day.

We don’t, but we do see dead badgers and hedgehogs.

Cats have a bit more road sense...

Mark Williams

Peterborough