Beast of Exmoor — Exmoor, Devon, England (1983–present)

In 1983, a South Molton farmer in Devon, England reported that over one hundred of his sheep had been killed over a three-month period by an unknown predator. The kills displayed a distinctive pattern: clean throat cuts and large sections of flesh removed, suggesting a powerful predator rather than domestic dogs. Similar livestock kills were reported across Exmoor National Park — a vast moorland and ancient forest landscape in southwestern England — and witnesses began describing sightings of a large, black, cat-like creature prowling the moors and fields. The Beast of Exmoor, as the press named it, was typically described as a large feline, three to five feet in length with a long tail, jet-black or very dark in color, and moving with the fluid grace of a big cat. The severity of the livestock losses prompted the Royal Marines to deploy snipers to the affected area in 1983 — one of the few instances in British history where the military was deployed against a cryptid. The Marines reported brief sightings but were unable to shoot or capture the animal. Explanations have ranged from escaped exotic pets (the Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976 prompted many private owners to release big cats into the wild) to melanistic leopards, pumas, or an unknown native species. Sightings of large black cats on Exmoor and across southwestern England have continued into the present day.