Black cats on the moors—phantom cats or just feral populations?

Right, so I live on the edge of Bodmin Moor (lovely spot, genuinely), and I keep hearing stories from locals about 'the Beast of Bodmin' - which officially doesn't exist, according to every official inquiry ever done. But the thing is, I've seen big black cats out here. Not house cats. Proper big ones.

Could be escaped exotics from private collections, could be a self-sustaining feral population from 70s/80s escapes, could be complete nonsense. But what I'm trying to figure out is: are other people seeing the same thing, or am I going mad? And is there any genuine difference between 'mystery animal' and 'animal that probably exists but we can't be bothered to track properly'?

Bodmin's got a proper reputation for this, hasn't it? I think there's probably actual big cats out there - enough sightings to suggest something - but whether it's a breeding population or occasional escapees is the question. The Dangerous Wild Animals Act made it expensive to keep them legally, so a bunch of people probably just let theirs go in the 70s. Natural selection's dealt with most of them by now, but maybe not all.

I've read all the official reports and they're basically 'we've looked, found no evidence, case closed.' But that's not how it works, is it? Just because you haven't found a breeding pair doesn't mean the reports are false. The moors are huge. A smart predator could avoid humans pretty easily. I'd be more convinced by environmental DNA sampling - they've done it for lynx and wolves elsewhere.

are other people seeing the same thing, or am I going mad?

Loads of people report seeing them! There's a whole Facebook group for Bodmin Beast sightings. Whether that means anything is another question. Could be mass hysteria, could be actual cats, could be domestic tabbies that looked bigger in bad light. But you're definitely not alone.

Get some trail cameras set up if you want to be serious about it. A decent one's about £50-80 on Amazon. That's how people have been getting evidence of actual rare animals - not guesswork and stories down the pub. Even if it's 'just' a feral dog or large Manx cat, at least you'll have proof.

The Beast of Bodmin is basically the Cornish version of any cryptid story - romantic, probably bollocks, but keeps the legend alive. I'm not saying you're wrong about the big cats, but I am saying the official inquiries might've actually done their job, and what you're seeing is just... cats.