From the Beast of Bodmin to the Essex lion, reports of big cats roaming the British countryside have been a "silly season" staple for years.
The claims are generally dismissed as the invention of cranks and fantasists, but now academics have found incontrovertible evidence that a large predatory feline similarto the notorious Beast of Bodmin was on the prowl more than a century ago.
A stuffed Canadian lynx, dated to the early 1900s, has been found in the vaults of the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. The creature - twice the size of a domestic cat - was shot dead by a Devon landowner after it had killed two dogs.
A multi-disciplinary team of researchers from Durham, Bristol, Southampton and Aberystwyth universities believes the animal is the earliest example of an "alien big cat" to be discovered in the British Isles.
"This Edwardian feral lynx provides concrete evidence that although rare, exotic felids have occasionally been part of British fauna for more than a century," said lead researcher Dr Ross Barnett of Durham University's Department of Archaeology.
Barnett said he believed the animal might have been part of a travelling menagerie. An analysis of the lynx's teeth and plaque suggest that the animal was kept in captivity before being released.
A study by the British Big Cat Society found 2123 sightings of big cats reported between April 2004 and July 2005.
