Beast of Bodmin Moor

The **Beast of Bodmin Moor** is a cryptid purported to live in Cornwall. It is believed to be a phantom cat. The beast is said to resemble a black panther. Bodmin Moor became a centre of alleged sightings after 1978, with occasional reports of mutilated livestock.

## Investigation

In August 1994, North Cornwall MP Paul Tyler became concerned that the big cats reported to be killing sheep on Bodmin Moor may be posing a risk to humans. He organised an official conference on the matter.

In January 1995, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food conducted an official investigation. The study found that there was "no verifiable evidence" of exotic felines loose in Britain, and that the mauled farm animals could have been attacked by common indigenous species.

The events that immediately preceded this investigation included the alleged sightings of large cats in and around the Bodmin Moor area, the depredation of livestock and aggressive encounters involving what were alleged to be large exotic cats. The majority of witnesses stated the cats were black or brown in colour. The descriptions of the larger cats most closely resembled a puma or leopard.

### **Large Cat Skull**

A large cat skull was discovered by the River Fowey. The skull was lacking its lower jaw but possessed two sharp teeth that suggested that it might have been a leopard. The skull was sent to the Natural History Museum in London for verification. They determined that it was a genuine skull from a young male leopard, but also found that the cat had not died in Britain and that the skull had been imported as part of a leopard-skin rug. The back of the skull was cleanly cut off in a way that is commonly used to mount the head on a rug. There was an egg case inside the skull that had been laid by a tropical cockroach that could not possibly be found in Britain. There were also cut marks on the skull indicating the flesh had been scraped off with a knife, and the skull had begun to decompose only after a recent immersion in water.

## Mary Chipperfield

Three pumas were released into the wilds of Dartmoor by Mary Chipperfield after her zoo in Plymouth was forced to shut down in 1978. Mary Chipperfield was a circus entertainer and animal trainer who was later arrested over allegations of animal cruelty. She was convicted of 12 counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an 18-month-old chimp.

## Sightings

Herman Welch, a man from Plymouth, said he had an encounter with what appeared to be a black panther in 2004. It stopped and looked at him before running off into the woods. He was on his way to Sparkwell at the time. It was revealed in 2011 that, since 2000, 205 sightings have been reported in the Devon and Cornwall force area.

### **Flaviu**

   In 2016, a two-year-old Carpathian lynx named "Flaviu" escaped from Dartmoor Zoo. It had only been delivered to the zoo one night before it had disappeared. Devon and Cornwall Police described its size as a "large, domestic cat". Lynx are native to parts of Europe and Asia. George Hyde, an operations manager at the zoo, told reporters the lynx was captive bred and was much more likely to stay away from humans and stay hidden.

## Media

**Music**

* *East of Alexandria* (2015) - "The Beast of Bodmin Moor" by Kadia

## References

1. ↑ Cornwall Guide: The Beast of Bodmin
2. ↑ The Ubiquitous Beast: The Beast of Bodmin Moor by John Snyder 2001
3. ↑ Big Cat Sightings Report
4. ↑ Telegraph: Beast of Dartmoor Mystery Solved After Famous Circus Owner Mary Chipperfield Set Three Pumas Free in 1970s
5. ↑ British Pathé: Mary Chipperfield
6. ↑ Oxford Mail: Tiger Trainer Arrested Over Animal Cruelty Allegations
7. ↑ BBC News: UK Circus Trainer Guilty of Cruelty
8. ↑ BBC News: UK Circus Trainers Fined for Cruelty
9. ↑ Metro: Beast of Bodmin DID Exist
10. ↑ Cornwall Live: This is the Evidence the Beast of Bodmin Could Actually Be Haunting Bodmin
11. ↑ The UICN Red List: Lynx
12. ↑ Telegraph: Lynx on the Loose in Devon After Escaping from Dartmoor Zoo
13. ↑ Devon and Cornwall Police Tweet 1/2
14. ↑ Devon and Cornwall Police Tweet 2/2