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Overview and Evidence[]
The Beast of Bodmin Moor is a cryptozoological feline belonging to a cryptid sub-group called 'alien big cats', large cats (generally belonging to the genus Panthera) that are sighted in areas to which they're not native. Popular in English folklore, the creature has reportedly been sighted in Bodmin Moor (hence its name), an 80-square-mile area of moorland in the northeastern region of Cornwall, England.[1]
The Beast of Bodmin Moor is usually described by eyewitnesses as a large feline creature resembling a jaguar, leopard, or similar big cat. They were sometimes compared to Labrador retrievers or German shepherds in size, much smaller than typical big cats but still far larger than any species of cat native to western Europe. Most witnesses depicted the cats as being dark in color, usually black or dark brown, potentially suggesting melanistic individuals.
Evidence for the creatures mainly consists of eyewitness accounts, but footprints and alleged photographs aren't uncommon. The most interesting potential piece of evidence was a skull found in the River Fowey by a young boy on July 24, 1995. However, after being sent to the Natural History Museum in London and examined by zoologists there, it was concluded that the skull had simply been imported from Africa as part of a leopard skin rug. In addition, several clues, including cut marks denoting the removal of flesh with a knife, indicated that the skull had intentionally been placed in the river by unknown parties as part of a hoax.[2]
While it is indeed hypothetically possible for big cats to be surviving in Cornwall, it is highly unlikely. The number of cats needed to maintain a consistent breeding population without succumbing to inbreeding would be upwards of 50 or more, and even this number would result in severe genetic bottlenecking. In addition, melanism generally only occurs in approximately 10% of a given population, a fact that goes against the consistent description of the creatures being black.[3] Surely there would be more sightings of non-black cats than sightings of black ones. Skeptics have generally dismissed the sightings due to a lack of concrete evidence, and the scientific community continues to maintain that the sightings are misidentifications of housecats whose sizes have been misjudged due to distance.[4]
Sources[]
- ↑ https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/myths-legends/beast_of_bodmin.htm
- ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/skull-find-was-a-beastly-hoax-1595262.html
- ↑ https://www.panthera.org/blog/2019/10/22/wild-cats-101-black-cats-and-more-melanism#:~:text=It's%20believed%20that%20melanism%20in,Black%20Cats%20Still%20Have%20Spots%3F
- ↑ https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1995/rt9507/950720/07200053.htm
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