There have been plenty more big cat sightings in Britain down the years - some with a hint of fable, and others with a distinct feel of farce.
Rex Features/Rex - Experts say the 'big cat' spotted in the early 1900s was likelly to have been a Canadian lynx, similar to this one. (Rex)
One of Britain's first ever exotic big cats prowled the Devon countryside more than a century ago, museum records have revealed.
The 'Canadian lynx', a predator more than twice the size of a domestic cat, stalked rural Devon in the early 1900s, according to rediscovered remains from a museum's vaults.
Records show that the animal, thought to have escaped or been released from captivity, was shot by a Devon landowner in the early 1900s after it killed two dogs.
It is the first proven case of an exotic big cat being at large in Britain.
Experts say the find is 'concrete evidence' that exotic cats have 'occasionally been part of British fauna for more than a century'.
There have been plenty more big cat sightings in Britain down the years - some with a hint of fable, and others with a distinct feel of farce.
BEAST OF BODMIN
An ongoing phantom wild cat myth, the Beast of Bodmin has become the subject of sightings in Cornwall.
Along with occasional reports of mutilated livestock, the panther-like cats (it is not known how many are supposed to exist) is said to live mainly on Bodmin Moor in the south-west.
The 'Canadian lynx', a predator more than twice the size of a domestic cat, stalked rural Devon in the early 1900s, according to rediscovered remains from a museum's vaults.
Records show that the animal, thought to have escaped or been released from captivity, was shot by a Devon landowner in the early 1900s after it killed two dogs.
It is the first proven case of an exotic big cat being at large in Britain.
Experts say the find is 'concrete evidence' that exotic cats have 'occasionally been part of British fauna for more than a century'.
There have been plenty more big cat sightings in Britain down the years - some with a hint of fable, and others with a distinct feel of farce.
BEAST OF BODMIN
An ongoing phantom wild cat myth, the Beast of Bodmin has become the subject of sightings in Cornwall.
Along with occasional reports of mutilated livestock, the panther-like cats (it is not known how many are supposed to exist) is said to live mainly on Bodmin Moor in the south-west.
This alleged pic of the 'Beast of Bodmin' was taken in Cornwall in 2008 (Rex)Common speculation is that the big cats came into the country as private pets or zoo animals, before escaping their owners or being set free.
However, the Ministiry of Agricultures, Fisheries and Food investigated in 1995, and found there was 'no verifiable evidence' of big cats on the loose in Britain.
BEAST OF BURNHAM THORPE, 2011
Locals in Norfolk were left 'living in fear' when a large cat was apparently spotted prowling along a country lane in 2011.
The beast, which was seen near the Queen's Sandringham Estate, was said by experts to be a Scottish wildcat which has been known to attack humans.
The 'Beast of Burnham Thorpe' struck fear into residents near Sandringham in 2011. (Rex)Eyewitnesses who saw the creature say it looked 'like a small lion'.
Others speculated that the animal simply looked like a big domestic cat.
THE ESSEX LION, 2012
Police in Essex launched a large-scale search in Essex last August after supposed sightings of a 'lion' in a field near Clacton-on-Sea.
Over 30 police officers, marksmen and helicopters were sent to find the mysterious beast - although their search wasn't helped by people posting fake pictures of the 'Essex Lion' on Twitter.
The 'Essex Lion', which turned out to be a domestic tabby cat.Police called off the search after 24 hours, having found 'no trace' of a lion.The creature which sparked the hunt was later revealed to be a 3ft-long Maine Coon domestic cat called Teddy Bear.
UNNAMED, DERBYSHIRE, 2007
Big cat enthusiast Paul Westwood spotted this creature walking along a wall in a countryside field six years ago.
He claims that the mystery animal - which he estimated to be at least 3ft-long and 18 inches high - was either a 'hybrid animal' or a young black leopard.
Paul, 47, who runs the website bigcatmonitor.co.uk, told Yahoo!: 'There are definitely at least one or two big cats still in Britain.'
Paul Westwood spotted this 'big cat' on a countryside wall in Derbyshire in 2007. (Paul Westwood/Bigcatmonitor …BEAST OF BANFF, 2007
A big, panther-like cat was spotted in broad daylight on the Banff Links by a startled holidaymaker.
The creature was described as 5ft-long and 3ft high, and was said to have walked across the path of a man who was staying at a nearby hotel.
At least one other local resident also claimed to have spotted the exotic cat at close hand in Banffshire, Scotland.
As with other big cat sightings, there was conflicting opinion as to whether the creature was a genuine 'exotic cat', or simply a domestic cat.
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