Beast of Bodmin Moor - The Mysterious Big Cat The Started It All

The Beast of Bodmin Moor is a mysterious big cat said to roam the moor, and became the centre of big cat sightings in the UK.

Beast of Bodmin Moor Legend

Tales of mysterious large animals are scattered around Britain, with sightings as far apart as Kent and Scotland, however most reports centre around Bodmin Moor.

Bodmin Moor is an isolated area of Devon which is mainly inhabited by sheep. The remoteness combined with its natural creepiness lends itself to the legend. With over 60 sightings of a black big cat animal, said to be three to five feet long with white-yellow eyes, and the reports of numerous reports of mutilated livestock, the legend of the Beast of Bodmin Moor grew.

The evidence was so strong that in 1995 the UK Government ordered an official investigation into the existence of such a beast. The report concluded that there was no evidence of a big cat living on Bodmin Moor, although it was careful to state that there was no evidence against its existence, either. Since then there have been hundreds of other sightings of the beast.

Some people have reported being chased by the powerful and scary cat-like creature. Others have spotted it in the distance, not quite believing their eyes. Grainy photographs and video footage exist, but not enough to prove that it is real.

Beast of Bodmin Moor Sightings

Sightings of the Beast of Bodmin Moor appear to start in the 1970s. People at the time said somebody found a huge cat-like animal, a lion or a tiger, roaming the moor. The rumour goes on to say that it had been released, or escaped, from a nearby zoo or private owner, someone like Jo Exotic. Other people said it was some sort of paranormal beast.

In the late 1990's a 14-year-old boy discovered a skull with large fangs, in the River Fowey on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. Could this be the remains of the beast? Is there more than one beast?

The skull was taken to the National Museum in London for analysis where it was discovered to be a leopard skull. It was also discovered that the animal did not die in Bodmin Moore as a large insect egg sack was found inside the skull. This egg sack could only have been laid in a hot country such as Africa or India. On closer inspection, it was found that there were cut marks and evidence on the back of the skull indicating that it had been removed using a sharp blade. The cut marks, the back of the skull, the egg case and the species identity finally answered the riddle of the beast's skull. This leopard had been killed for a trophy, then as a hoax, it had been dropped in a Bodmin river, where it was eventually found.

Beast of Bodmin Moor Photos

Photographs and even films had been taken of these beasts, but there has been little physical evidence to support the sightings.

Is the Beast of Bodmin Moor a Big Cat?

Locals in mid-Cornwall believe the animal could be just one of several big cats roaming the area. Around 60 other big cat sightings have been recorded in the area since 1983. Experts believe there is a population of big cats in and around mid-Cornwall, however, a government report (1995) concluded, "there was no evidence to show big cats existed on the moor".

Recently, falconer Martin Whitley of Dorset took this photograph whilst on a Hawk Walk with American tourists near Hound Tor. Mr Whitley claims that there is "definitely nothing supernatural" about the animal which completely dwarfed a German short-hair pointer.

"We watched it for about 400 yards as it came closer. It was in no hurry and seemed completely indifferent to us. There was a group of kids on a nearby tor making quite a racket and it ignored them too."

Experts from the British Big Cat Society have studied the picture and ruled out a Big Cat.

"I wouldn't completely rule out a dog or a pony, but my money would be on a hairy wild boar"
Danny Bamping, British Big Cats Society

It has also been claimed that Mary Chipperfield, a 1970s British circus entertainer, released three pumas into the wild following the closure of her Zoo in Plymouth in 1978.

Others claim that a pack of pumas was released into the wild during the 1980s, which would explain the existence of big cats on the moor for the last 30 years. However, scientists have rejected both theories because the numbers needed to sustain a breeding population of big cats would be too large for the available food supply.