2 years ago

In British folklore, the Beast of Exmoor, also known as the Exmoor Beast, is a phantom cat said to roam the fields of Exmoor in Devon and Somerset in the United Kingdom.

HISTORY
There have been numerous reports of eyewitness sightings; however, the official Exmoor National Park website lists the beast under "Traditions, Folklore, and Legends", and the BBC calls it "the famous-yet-elusive beast of Exmoor." Sightings were first reported in the 1970s, although it became notorious in 1983, when a South Molton farmer named Eric Ley claimed to have lost over 100 sheep in the space of three months, all of them apparently killed by violent throat injuries. There was even a report of the Beast seen "fishing" with its paw into the River Barle at Simonsbath, whilst some locals theorised that its lair might be in old mine workings on the Moor. The Daily Express offered a reward for the capture or slaying of the Beast. Farm animal deaths in the area have been sporadically blamed on the Beast ever since. Sightings were reported in the Devon and Somerset areas of England.

It has been suggested that the beast may possibly be a cougar or black leopard which was released from a private collection sometime in the 1960s or 1970s after a law was passed making it illegal for them to be kept in captivity outside zoos. However, considering that cougar and leopard life spans are 12 to 15 years, this is unlikely. In 2006 the British Big Cats Society reported that a skull found by a Devon farmer was that of a puma, however the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) states that "Based on the evidence, DEFRA does not believe that there are big cats living in the wild in England."

CHARACTERISTICS
Eyewitness testimony has produced a number of different descriptions. Most accounts report the animal as being a large cat either resembling a puma or a panther. It is recorded as being somewhere between three and four feet six inches long from nose to tail and 2 feet six inches in shoulder height, standing very low to the ground, and as having the ability to leap over 6-foot-tall fences with ease. Descriptions of its coloration range from black to tan or dark grey, with white markings on its head and neck. It is described as having a squat head with a short neck, a muscular body, and short legs. Its pawprints are three to four inches across. It is described as nocturnal.

No such cat is native to England, and the variations in description have led some cryptozoologists to believe that there might be more than one creature.