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Big cat sightings
Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FOI/25/7976
Version Date: 12/05/2025
Within the last 5 years, how many 'big cat' sightings have been recorded within the counties of Devon & Cornwall? This would exclude anything regarding 'domestic-size' cats, with the report potentially mentioning either panther/black leopard, lynx or puma/mountain lion-type sightings/encounters. Could the approx. location of each sighting please be disclosed, as well as whether an officer followed-up, in-person, on the report
The Performance & Analysis Department have provided the following information:
Data Source:
- Data taken from the STORM incident recording system
Data Processing:
- Filtered by date: January 1st 2021 to March 31st 2025
- A free text search of the Brief Incident details and the Incident Report on STORM was then undertaken for the key words/phrases listed below.
- Keywords search for are "Big Cat", "Puma", "Panther" or “Lynx”,
Data Limitations
Free text searches rely on the words/phrases searched for being included in the brief incident details or the incident report and being spelt correctly. A free text search doesn’t include the context in which the word/ phrase is used therefore it may not be being used in the context requested.
The incidents have to be manually read to identify the context and remove the main uses of the key words/phrases that are out of the context required:
- Ford Puma (the make and model of car)
- Puma the clothing brand (i.e. hoodies, trainers etc)
- Black Cat Junction/Area (a location in Devon)
- Tattoos of Panther, Puma etc.
|
Incident Date |
Location |
Area |
Summary |
Attended |
|
Jan 2021 |
Torrington |
Devon |
Seen 20 mins ago. Caller believes it was a black panther. Animal approx. 3ft long. Long slender body. Jumped 6-7ft high hedge |
Yes |
|
Jun 2021 |
Helston |
Cornwall |
Caller saw a loose American bobcat/lynx yesterday at approx. 09:00. Caller was walking down a pathway when she saw the cat sitting bolt up in front of her, she turned and walked away, and the cat vanished. No further sightings. |
No |
|
Nov 2021 |
South Molton |
Devon |
Caller believes he saw a lion around 20 - 30 minutes ago. Spoke to Exmoor zoo and it’s not from there. All big cats at Coombe Martin wildlife and Dinosaur Park are accounted for. Caller updated and details appended |
Yes |
|
Dec 2021 |
Redruth |
Cornwall |
Caller saw a very large, big black cat. This big black cat was huge and did not look like a domestic cat, it looked more like a panther and walked like one too |
No |
|
Aug 2022 |
Kingsbridge Rural |
Devon |
Caller believes they spotted a puma last night around 20:00 on unnamed single track road |
No |
|
Aug 2022 |
Exminster |
Devon |
Caller is adamant that they saw a tiger sized black cat which they think is a panther |
Yes |
|
Aug 2022 |
Plymouth |
Devon |
Black wildcat seen 15 mins ago, size of a puma. |
No |
|
Oct 2023 |
Plymouth |
Devon |
Caller advised that she has seen a very large cat, all black in the tree on the back of her property. it climbed down and caller advises that it looked very much like a big cat you would see in the zoo. she is calling to see if we have had reports of an escape. |
Yes |
|
Jun 2024 |
Porthleven & Helston |
Cornwall |
Caller believes he has just seen a big cat in his gardens 2.5 feet plus, long tail, grey/white large cat No obvious reports of missing large cats or animals from local zoos to tie this to |
No |
|
Jul 2024 |
Bodmin |
Cornwall |
Caller reporting that 20 mins ago he was walking along the camel trail and he saw a panther. He said it was a very large black cat about 2ft tall, 3ft long and a long tail |
Yes |
|
Aug 2024 |
Newquay |
Cornwall |
Large cat about a meter in height. Caller said it looked like a lion. courtesy call to witness - appears genuine in his manner Witness stated the animal was purring, this rules out a potential lion as big cats, do not possess a hyoid bone in their throats which enables small cats with this anatomical difference to purr. Lions will however 'chuff' which is a very different sound. Therefore, whatever he saw, it was not a lion |
Yes |
|
Nov 2024 |
Tregony |
Cornwall |
Described as a large black cat with long tail, bigger than a dog and panther or puma like. Initially seen in headlights with eyes like large orange balls. Animal walked off to the left and up a hedge into a field. |
No |
|
Mar 2025 |
Penzance |
Cornwall |
Caller reporting her and her old son driving back to Penzance saw a quite large spotted feline crossing the road. Certainly bigger than a normal house hold cat and the spotted markings were quite significant and likened it to a lynx |
No |