British big cats · Livestock mystery · Military search
Beast of Exmoor
Simonsbath · Exmoor National Park · Somerset and Devon
In 1983, a series of disturbing livestock deaths turned rumours of a large cat on Exmoor into national news. Royal Marines searched the moor, farmers watched the fields and witnesses described a powerful animal that never stayed still long enough to identify.
Photo: Keith Stuart via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
The British big cat mystery that brought in the Marines
The Beast of Exmoor is more than a nickname attached to one blurry photograph. Livestock deaths, newspaper investigations, military surveillance and decades of witness reports built a modern legend across a real working landscape. Simonsbath provides a practical public base from which to experience the moor without pretending there is a secret Beast den waiting beside a footpath.
At a glance
Visitor details checked 1 September 2026From farm losses to national mystery
Large-cat rumours existed before 1983, but the livestock deaths near South Molton transformed a scattered story into the Beast of Exmoor.
Shapes on the moor
People had already reported unusually large, dark or tawny animals around Exmoor. The descriptions varied between black panther-like cats, pumas and oversized dogs.
Those differences matter. They may represent several ordinary animals, several escaped exotics or errors produced by distance and expectation.The livestock panic
A farmer near South Molton reported heavy sheep losses over a short period, with damaged throats and injuries considered unusual by those who examined them. Wider losses were soon attributed to the same unknown predator.
Published totals vary. ParaMaps treats the often-repeated figure of more than 100 sheep as a contemporary claim, not a forensic count proving one animal killed them all.Royal Marines on watch
The authorities took the concern seriously enough for Royal Marines to conduct surveillance on Exmoor. The operation gave the legend an extraordinary official chapter, but it produced no captured animal or conclusive identification.
A military search confirms that livestock losses caused genuine concern. It does not confirm that the target was a puma, leopard or unknown species.What happened during the 1983 panic?
The case began with something entirely real: farmers were finding dead livestock and losing money. The unsettling question was what had caused the injuries. Reports described sheep killed quickly, sometimes with serious throat damage and surprisingly little disturbance among the rest of the flock.
As the story spread, the deaths became attached to earlier sightings of a large animal. Searchers arrived with radically different ideas – dog, puma, leopard, escaped exotic pet or simply several unrelated causes compressed into one memorable Beast.
The Royal Marines’ involvement is the strongest reason this story stands apart from casual big-cat folklore. Yet the operation ended with the central question intact. No animal, secure track sequence or biological sample established what the searchers had been looking for.
One name, several descriptions
Witnesses do not describe a perfectly consistent creature, although a long-tailed, powerful cat shape appears repeatedly.
The black panther shape
Many reports describe a low, dark animal with a long tail and rolling shoulders. Panther is a convenient label, but black leopards and jaguars are different species and neither has been identified on Exmoor.
The tawny puma
Other witnesses describe a dusky, fawn or grey animal closer to a puma. In a 1990 Reuters report, local witness Rod Bramner described a hefty tawny animal larger than an Alsatian, moving across a road in powerful bounds.
Dogs and difficult scale
Large dogs can attack livestock and leave tracks showing claws, unlike most big cats. Foxes, deer and domestic cats can also appear unfamiliar when briefly seen without a reliable scale reference.
Reports continue, proof does not
Any single escaped animal from the early 1980s would be long dead. Later sightings therefore require a breeding population, repeated releases or a mixture of mistaken identifications.
Police calls still arrive
Devon and Cornwall Police recorded several large-cat calls in 2021. A South Molton caller reported a possible lion, while other Devon witnesses described black panther-like animals. Some incidents were attended, but none was confirmed as a wild big cat.
The puma skull
A puma skull reportedly found in Devon was publicised in 2006. Even if genuine, a loose skull without secure recovery history cannot establish when the animal lived, how it died or whether it ever roamed Exmoor.
The release theory
The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 is often blamed for exotic pets being released rather than licensed. Such releases are plausible, but no documented chain connects a particular released cat with the 1983 deaths.
Explore Exmoor, not a fictional hotspot
Ashcombe at Simonsbath offers a practical start for woodland and Barle Valley routes. The landscape behind the reports is the destination; seeing the Beast is neither likely nor promised.
A Simonsbath mystery walk
Choose a current public route that suits the weather and your group’s ability.
Begin at Ashcombe
Use the information board to orient yourself. The car park and toilets make this a far more useful base than an approximate coordinate copied from an old sighting report.
Walk the Simonsbath woods
Public and permissive paths cross Ashcombe and Birchcleave. Moving between woodland, hedges and open views shows how quickly even a large animal could disappear from sight.
Extend into the Barle Valley
For a longer visit, follow an established route towards Cow Castle and the open valley. Check the current route, ground conditions and daylight before committing to the full walk.
Getting there
Ashcombe lies beside the A3223 at Simonsbath in the heart of Exmoor. Follow official parking signs rather than stopping at gateways or attempting to navigate towards a reported encounter.
Parking: Pay and display
Facilities: Public toilets and information board
Access and facilities
The visitor base has parking and toilets, but outdoor routes vary from easier woodland paths to long, uneven and exposed moorland walking. Exmoor National Park publishes separate accessible route guidance.
Follow Britain’s mystery cats south
Dartmoor has its own long-running Beast tradition, while Wistman’s Wood offers ancient trees and older supernatural folklore within the same moorland landscape.
Beast of Dartmoor
Compare Exmoor’s 1983 livestock panic with decades of panther, puma and oversized-cat reports scattered across Dartmoor.
Explore the Beast of Dartmoor →Wistman’s Wood
Walk towards a protected grove of twisted dwarf oaks surrounded by stories of Druids, spectral hounds and dangerous old ground.
Explore Wistman’s Wood →Visit the landscape. Keep the animal unresolved.
The Beast of Exmoor endures because the story began with genuine losses, received an extraordinary official response and still refuses to produce a final specimen. Walk the real moor, understand what the evidence can and cannot prove, and leave the dark shape at the edge of the field exactly where it belongs.