Beast of Exmoor
editOne particular instance of note of this phenomena is the "Beast of Exmoor". While this initially started in the same way as other instances of what might be described as "local big cat stories", with sightings of the Beast of Exmoor reported as early as 1970[1], the story came to national prominence in the United Kingdom 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.[2][3] The claim that these livestock had been killed by a mysterious beast led to "nationwide interest", with the Daily Express offering a substantial financial reward for video footage of the creature, while the government took the unusual step of deploying a team of Royal Marine snipers to hunt down (and presumably kill) the creature.[3][4][5]
Despite the considerable levels of coverage and both professional and amateur hunting for the creature, which in one rather unfortunate case saw a cryptozoologist have to be rescued after spending two nights stuck in their own trap[6], no supposed big cat has ever been positively identified or found to explain such incidents as the 1983 livestock slayings, with them now being attributed to other causes such as large dogs.[7] Regardless of this lack of evidence the "Beast of Exmoor" still sees the occasional entry into the public imagination; alleged sightings continue to be reported occasionally around Exmoor long after any such animal if it had existed would've died,[3][8][9] while one national newspaper chose to write a report regarding a found carcass alleged to be an example of the Beast of Exmoor that ultimately identified the creature as a dead seal.[10] Beyond the idea of the creature itself it has been posited by one journalist that the lasting legacy of the urban legend may be as a mythological base that real life wildlife stories such as Emperor of Exmoor can build off.[11]
References
edit- ^ Regal, Brian (2009). Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-313-35508-0.
- ^ Channing, Iain (2016). "Post-PACE: Police and Policing in the South West Timeline". University of Plymouth. p. 3.
- ^ a b c "The mystery of Britain's alien big cats", The Week, January 8, 2015
- ^ Simpson, Jacqueline; Roud, Stephen (2000). A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-210019-1.
- ^ "Big cats in Britain: in pictures". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ Monbiot, George (2017). Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. p. 54. ISBN 9780226325279.
- ^ Eberhart, George M. (2002). Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1576072835.
- ^ "Pumas and cougars guide: what's the difference between them, where do they live and what do they eat?". Discover Wildlife. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ "Leopard Fact Sheet | Blog | Nature | PBS". Nature. 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ Monbiot, George (2017). Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780226325279.
- ^ Charles, Alec (2012). "Deer departed: a study of the news coverage of the death of the Exmoor Emperor" (PDF). Journalism Education. 1 (1): 56.
