Beast of Bodmin Moor mystery finally solved?
The 30-year mystery of the Beast of Bodmin Moor has finally been revealed - and, drumroll please, the bloodthirsty creature is actually just a cat.
The 'creature' was thought to be some kind of Big Cat, possibly a panther, prowling around Cornwall mutilating and eating livestock, and terrifying locals.
According to the Metro, newly-found records reveal the fearsome animal is a 12-inch cat.
A six-month investigation in 1995 into the 'beast' found there was "no verifiable evidence" of exotic wild animals on the loose in the UK, reports the Daily Mail.
The investigation reportedly cost a whopping £84,000, with experts examining photos and videos, and staging reconstructions.
Sheffield Hallam University journalism professor David Clarke found the findings in a file at the Public Record Office.
The report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food detailed at least 60 reported sightings of the 'beast' going back to 1983.
However, it appears the mystery actually could live on as, despite ruling that it was an ordinary pet, researchers were unable to prove that big cats were "not present".
According to the Mirror, soon after the report was published, a teenage boy found a skull with large fangs in the River Fowey near the moor.
The Natural History Museum in London said it was the skull of a male leopard.
And the locals aren't reassured either. According to Pirate FM, Jenny from Bodmin said she's seen it: "I was driving down from Liskeard past Taphouse, and it just went from a ditch. This to me was not a cat, it was too big, and it wasn't of the description you hear a lot of people give of it.
"It had a very slinky look to it, almost like a seal colour. Although that could have been because the rain had flattened its coat. I just accepted it as it went past. I thought 'Oh there's the Beast of Bodmin.'"
And Danny Bamping from the British Big Cats Society thinks the study's conclusion is flawed, saying: "I've been doing this 20 years and I can tell you categorically there are a lot of big cats and exotic cats in Britain.
"There are certainly cats in Devon and Cornwall and, for the last 30 years, the governmnet has been covering it up.
"We've already got scientific proof and we've already got several bodies so I'm not sure how far they want us to go to prove they exist before they actually protect them."
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