The Beast of Bodmin Moor
The Mysterious Cats of Britain
What is the Beast of Bodmin Moor, and where did it come from? Some call it an ancient, native animal, thought to been driven to extinction, that escaped to our time. Or is it a modern exotic pet that has escaped its cage and the arm of the law? Animals do escape from zoos and parks every year. Since the 1970's private ownership of big cats has been illegal in Britain. So if one escaped, its owner would hesitate to report it.
Although a government report in the mid-1990's concluded that the Beast of Bodmin does not exist, a stready stream of evidence suggests that there are different populations of mysterious cats scattered across Britain that just barely evade detection as they have perhaps evaded extinction, snug in the dark byways of cryptozoology (the study of hidden animals).
The mysterious cats of Britain have been attracting attention for a long time. There was a newspaper report of a tiger hunt in Sherwood Forest dating from 1827.
Real evidence supporting the Beast of Bodmin Moor and other mysterious cats in Britain has been found, most spectacularly, a huge skull with large fangs. Biologists at the British Natural History Museum identified it as a large cat not usually found in England.
The BBC reports that volunteers with the Royal Air Force have turned to the military's night vision equipment to try to document the Beast of Bodmin Moor as well as to practice skills that the RAF has used in Kosovo and Kuwait.
It is believed that the native lynx has made a return, and in 2001, local police and inspectors from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals captured a lynx in a suburb of London, which they believe to have been an escaped exotic. In 2007, however, a picture alleged to be of the Beast of Bodmin Moor turned out to be a photo of a squirrel.
Since 1983, some sixty sightings of the Beast of Bodmin Moor and other mysterious cats have been reported in Britain. Anyone who knows how elusive and mysterious a house cat can be will have no problem believing that it might well have unknown relatives lurking around, even in our crowded modern world.
Published by Michael Segers
I'm old enough to know better, but too young to admit it. I've been a teacher, owner of a sandwich shop, collector of neckties, acupuncture student. Now I get bossed around by my parrot and rejoice that I d... View profile
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- Is the Beast of Bodmin Moor an ancient cat that did not go extinct?
- Is it an illegal modern pet?
- Or, is it a squirrel?
5 Comments
Post a CommentI'm not sure how a squirrel can be mistaken for a cat, but now that I think about it, I remember taking my kids to the zoo and having to look at the signs, because I wasn't sure what the animals were, so I guess it's possible. Hadn't heard of this one, so thank you!
really intresting i deffo think that the beast of BODMIN MOOR is real. i am 11 years old and i am very intrested when most 11 year olds wont care.i think that this website come up with excellent facts.i am reasearching about the beast and so far all my work has been of off this. it helps me understand more about the beast.as it said the beast could have ecscaped no-one knows.but i my brother lives in wales and a boy got attaced by something that apparently was said to have been the beast of BODMIN MOOR.they have said to have found a large skull with large fangs in BRITIAN and they identified it in the british natural musuem to be a large cat not ususally found in BRITIAN.
shauna from luton.
You do come up with some fascinating stuff. It's why I am so drawn to your writings. I once knew an old, hunch-backed man named Szabar. He owned a curiosity shop in my hometown. The most fascinating place and the most fascinating man. Sometimes I think he came up with stuff no-one else in this world could have found.
Interesting stuff - I definitely think it's possible that there are creatures which have managed to avoid our detection.
Merry Ole Land of Odd. I love all your articles. Great job!