A large cat-like creature reportedly responsible for the killing of many farm animals in South Molton, Devonshire, England.
Reports of the beast begun in the early 1970's, but in the spring of 1983, local farmer Eric Ley lost over one hundred of his sheep in a period of two and a half months. Eric noticed that the killer did not attack its victims like a dog or fox would, but rather like a lion or leopard by ripping out their throats. In 1987 the creature was blamed for over 200 farm animal deaths. More recent attacks were reported in August 1995 and January 2001.
Those who have researched the Exmoor beast suggest that it is a large, cat-like animal, either black or dark gray, with a long tail. It stands low to the ground but it has been known to jump 6-foot high fences. Some speculate that there is more than one cat, and that they are the descendants of an escaped black puma, which mated with another feline, thus creating a new species of cat.
Other researchers believe something more supernatural may be afoot, because of the fact that no one has ever caught one of these reported big cats. For example, during the British army's hunt for the Exmoor beast, the creature was trapped and surrounded in a barn. When the troopers went into the building, it was found to be empty. It has even been suggested that these creatures come from a parallel universe, slipping in and out of our dimension.
Photographic and film evidence has been attained throughout the years about the possible existence of these animals, but as far as physical evidence, very little had been presented. That was the case until recently, when a 14-year-old boy discovered a skull with large fangs in the River Fowey on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. The skull was taken to the Natural History Museum, where it was determined not to be from an animal commonly found in the English countryside, such as a badger or fox. She could also tell that the skull belonged to a member of the cat family, or Felidae.
This website is best viewed with the latest
versions of
Microsoft
Internet Explorer or
Firefox.
Occultopedia
makes extensive use of
Flash and Scripting in its pages and interface. Make certain your browser
permissions are set
accordingly and that you have the latest
Flash plug-in for the full experience, proper look and accurate
layout. You can do it with confidence. This site does not contain any viruses, malicious software
or scripts.
Occultopedia is the genuine article, the
original and the best internet index of the extraordinary and uncanny,
shamelessly copied by many, but never equaled. Online since 1995 — at first in a free web space provider
(Tripod.com), and in 1997 finally
with its own domain name and hosting — Occultopedia still is the
principal online resource for those looking for the unexplained, the
curious and the unusual.
Occultopedia respects your privacy. As
such, no cookies or any other tracking software will be installed as a
part of this website's original programming. I do not seek to obtain any personal information
beyond what is volunteered through electronic communications
(e.g. emails & forms).
Occultopedia may appear to be a for profit site, but my site is
not in reality a commercial one. All of the commercial links are from affiliate
programs, and the little revenue I get from these is to pay for hosting,
bandwidth — that can be quite costly if you have a lot of traffic, graphics and
pages — and any other expenses related to Occultopedia's upkeep, support, and maintenance.
For more details, visit my
ordering
information page.
Occultopedia is a
FREE online
resource available to the whole world. Usage of my word definitions and articles
by educational institutions, teachers and students alike, is here by granted.
Reproduction for profit, and for display in another web site is strictly
forbidden, and will be handled as copyright infringement and prosecuted to the
full extent of the law. However, if you follow
some simple guidelines,
I will grant permission for limited reproduction. For more information, please consult my
intellectual property rights, warranties and
disclaimers information page. Support Occultopedia and make it your
online shopping
destination. If you prefer, you can also make a donation.
HELP FOOT THE BILL: this website
is created and maintained by one guy, who also pays the hosting bill.
Please donate if you like and/or use Occultopedia.
Participate in Occultopedia and submit a word
definition or article for the occult encyclopedia at my
entry submission
page. If you would like to suggest a web site or page for
addition into Occultopedia's links database, please go to my
URL submission page.