Legends say that a big and mysterious beast could be roaming wild in Cornwall - and even in Devon.
The famous Beast of Bodmin, said to be haunting Bodmin Moor, is described as a phantom wild cat, possibly with two sharp prominent teeth like those found on a leopard.
Over the years, mysterious shapes of big cats and set of giant paw prints have fueled the idea that the beast, or a feline monster, could actually exist in the region.
It was first spotted in 1983 and, since the first sightings, reports of the Beast of Bodmin have flooded in the police's system.
In 2011, it was revealed that, since 2000, 205 sightings of big cats had been reported in the Devon and Cornwall Police's force area.
The results of a Freedom of Information request have shown the number of ‘big cat’ sightings reported to Devon and Cornwall Police in each calendar year from 2016 to 2018.
In all, 18 sightings were reported to the police - 12 in Devon and six in Cornwall. Police attended on five occasions.
Here are all the sightings as well as the actual logs that the force recorded:
May 2016
This sighting happened at Tavistock Rural West in Devon.
The force’s log reads: “Large black panther like the animal seen on the main road coming out of Lifton. The animal was in the main road however has now ran off into a field.”
Police did not attend.
July 2016
A first big cat was spotted at in the Roundswell, Tawstock and Longbridge area in Devon.
The police log states: “In field heading towards Bideford. Brown/beige in colour, cat-like but not domestic.”
Police did not attend.
Another one was seen in at Dartmouth Town. The log reads: “Lynx spotted at campsite, markings similar to a cheetah.”
Police attended.
The last sighting in July 2016 was at Chudleigh-Teign Valley.
The log states: “Out of the bushes came a huge catwith a sleek head and bouded like a cheetah across his drive into the field above.”
Police did not attend.
August 2016
In all, there were three sightings, none of them were attended by the police.
The first one was in Penzance.
The log says: “Have spotted a large cat in the woodland area of the garden. Dog size, black and white colourings.”
The second one was in the St Blazey & Tywardreath area.
The log states: “Described as a very large cat like animal, could hear it make some sort of growling noise.”
The third one was near Ivybridge, in Devon, and the log reads: “There has been a black panther in the area of the school and church in Sparkwell.”
November 2016
The sighting was at Cockington-with-Chelston in Devon.
The log states: “Reporting person stating that he has seen a deer that is fresh and has been shredded by what he believes as a big cat.”
Police did not attend.
June 2017
This was in the Lower Culm and Upper Culm area in Devon.
The log reads: “Reporting person believes she came across a 'big cat' whilst walking her dogs.”
Police did not attend.
January 2018
The sighting was at Seaton.
The log says: “Gone towards the beach- large black cat with yellow eyes”.
Police attended.
Another sighting that month was in the Copperhouse and Gwinear area of Cornwall.
The log says: “Reporting Person saw what they think was a large cat type animal described as being not as tall as a Labrador and black”.
Police did not attend.
February 2018
There were three sightings that month, two in Cornwall, one in Devon.
The first one was at Mount Gould.
The log reads: “The cat is four times the size of a domestic cat and is possibly a Scottish wild cat.”
Police attended.
The second one was in the St Stephen and St Dennis area.
The log says: “A black puma emerged and picked the rabbit up and ran off and tucked into the carcass.”
Police did not attend.
The last one was, again, in the Copperhouse and Gwinear area.
The log says: “Two beige brown cats puma size walked across the road from farm shop”.
Police did not attend.
April 2018
This one was in Ashburton in Devon.
The log states: “Large dead animal in slow lane. Caller states it looks to be a large cat, bigger than a domestic cat”.
Police attended.
June 2018
The sighting was in St Columb Major, Cornwall.
The log reads: “Possible large cat. Caller states it is approximately three times the size of a large domestic cat, very long body and tail- similar in colour to a golden Labrador.”
Police did not attend.
Another one in June was at Braunton in Devon.
The log says: “Caller said he looked at it through his binoculars and it's definitely a larger black cat - too big to be domestic cat”.
Police attended.
August 2018
This was near Ottery in Devon.
The log states: “Saw a big 'panther like' cat on Aylesbeare common”.
Police did not attend.
