This big cat skull was found in a cave in Portugal. But all is not as it first seemed

Thursday 23rd January 2025

This big cat skull was found in a cave in Portugal. But all is not as it first seemed…

This big cat skull was found in a cave in Portugal. But all is not as it first seemed

The almost perfectly preserved skull of the ‘leopard of Algar da Manga Larga’ was discovered in the early 2000s – now a new study of the specimen reveals it has been hiding a big secret.

Jonathan Downes
Cryptozoologist, naturalist, musician, singer, composer, poet, novelist and Director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology since 1992. Jon was born in Portsmouth in 1959 and spent his infancy in Nigeria and his childhood in Hong Kong. His wife Corinna died of cancer in 2020, leaving him with two stepdaughters and a six year old granddaughter called Evelyn.