Government involvement
In 1983,in response to increased reports of livestock death and sightings of the Beast, the Ministry of Agriculture ordered the Royal Marines to send sharpshooters into the Exmoor hills—although some Marines claimed to have seen the Beast fleetingly, no shots were fired, partially because of the risk of the Marines' high-powered sniper rifle bullets passing straight through the creature's body and then causing injury to humans or livestock etc., and the number of attacks on livestock dwindled. As an amusing side note, the Marines' commanding officer was quoted as saying that their quarry behaved with high, almost human, intelligence and "always moved with surrounding cover amongst hedges and woods" Ultimately, the Marines were recalled from the field, after which the attacks on the local sheep allegedly increased. By 1987, the creature was connected to over 200 farm animal deaths. More recent attacks were reported in 1995 and 2001. The Ministry continued to study the reported sightings into the mid-1990s, before concluding that the Beast was either a hoax or myth and that the alleged sightings had been mistaken identifications of creatures native to the Exmoor area.
Thursday, November 19, 1998 Published at 20:00 GMT
UK Police call off search for lion
There are many places for a lion to hide in Dartmoor
Armed police have called off their search for a lion, believed to have been loose in the area around a Devon village.
BBC's Clinton Rogers: Local people advised to stay indoors
They say they will not be resuming the search unless further sightings are reported.
The hunt began after a motorist said he spotted the lion on a country road on the southern fringes of Dartmoor on Thursday morning.
By late afternoon, there had been two more sightings of the animal within two miles of the original one.
Police took the sightings very seriously
A 6in diameter paw print was also found in a field near houses in the Wrangton area, near Ivybridge.
Police Sergeant Alan Mobbs said he understood the lion was an immature male, about two years old.
People living in the area were advised to stay indoors and not walk their dogs as two teams of dog handlers, accompanied by armed officers, combed the fields.
The animal, which has a bloody mane, was sighted by Paul Gourley, 42, after he dropped his children off at a school in Wrangton.
It panicked when his car approached to within 20 yards and jumped through a hedge, vanishing into fields.
Cold and hungry
Asked if he was sure of what he had seen, Mr Gourley, of Cheston Caravan Park, Wrangton said: "I know a lion when I see one."
Casts were taken of the animal's paw prints
Robin Godbeer, of Dartmoor Wildlife Park at Sparkwell, near Ivybridge said the paw print did appear to be that of a big cat.
However, he said none of the 13 big cats were missing from the wildlife park and he had no idea from where the beast could have come from.
Mr Godbeer said: "If it is cold and hungry it is going to look for food, but for most of the big cats, humans are last on the list.
"It is not a rabid wild animal hunting humans.
"It is going to run away long before it does anything else.
"With its senses, it is going to pick us up long before we know it is there."
It is not the first time big cats have been reported roaming wild in the country.
For more than 15 years, the hunt has been on for the so-called Beast of Exmoor and the Beast of Bodmin.
7:00pm Sunday 19th April 2009
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By Lloyd Vaughan »
A HORROR novel based on the Exmoor Beast is about to hit the shelves – almost 15 years after news of its completion was featured in the County Gazette.
The newspaper included a half-page spread on local author Paul Skinner’s thriller about the beast, called Hunter, on June 10, 1994.
Although the coverage failed to get the book published, Paul said it was enough for him to hang on to his dream of becoming an author and keep the manuscript tucked away in a safe place.
Some 15 years later he found the draft and started work on it again, spurred on by fresh sightings of the roaming beast.
Now Paul says his dream has finally been realised as his chilling horror novel goes on sale in a fortnight.
He told the County Gazette: “I am no longer a carpenter by job role – now I own and run a school and care homes, and can afford to promote this novel and get it published as it deserved.
“My hope is to create even more mystery and notoriety about Exmoor so that tourists come looking for the Exmoor Beast.
“I feel the book can make the moors even more of a tourist attraction.”
He added: “Hunter tells a story about ordinary people who live in Porlock, Taunton and the little villages around and on the moor.”
The book follows the tale of ex-Royal Marine Commando Hunter whose son disappears from the moors.
During the search for him, both Hunter and his wife Jenny encounter a mythical monster like no other.
A book launch will be held in Taunton next month.
* For more information click on the Related Link on this page.
Only it's victims know the real truth!
THE grisly remains of a mysterious razor-fanged beast have been found washed up on a beach.
A shocked surfer discovered a carcass “the size of a calf . . . with massive, canine teeth”.
It is badly decomposed, making identification difficult — but the find sparked fevered speculation.
Ex-beast? ... map shows distance between corpse and
sightings of Beast of Exmoor
The monster was spotted near Downend Point on Croyde Beach, Devon.
And the tourist spot is just five miles by sea from where the Beast of Exmoor is rumoured to roam.
The corpse has black fur and teeth similar to those found on big cats such as pumas and panthers.
Beast on the beach
The Sun told how wardens in the Forest of Dean, Gloucs, have seen the fearsome creatures in the wild. Yesterday Jason said of the beach find: “I thought it could be the Beast of Exmoor as it looked like a big cat or dog.
“It had massive teeth, a flat head and large eye sockets. It was about five feet long.”
Some locals suggested it could be a seal, but The Marine Conservation Society and the National Seal Sanctuary both stated it was not.
PC Chris Tucker, of Braunton Police, said: “It has black fur. It looks quite beast-like with those teeth.”
Sergeant Jeff Pearce added: “It could be a sea lion — and that in itself would be unusual as they don’t live in our waters.”
Last night, in a further twist, police reported the beast’s skull STOLEN.
Sgt Pearce said: “We don’t know who’s taken it — but it’s not there any more.”
We are in discussions with the award winning brewery EXMOOR ALES to jointly promote the strong ale the EXMOOR BEAST 6.6%.
This ale is so good that it would be great to promote my novel with such an established brand....
So watch this space....book signings in pubs and restaurants coming soon....try this superb drink..
Thanks for the support everyone...lets get this book to number 1.....
Paul
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Somerset Times....June 09
