What kind of animal is a legendary creature, Beast of Bodmin Moor?

The Beast of Bodmin Moor, also known as the Beast of Bodmin is a phantom wild cat purported to live in Cornwall, England. Bodmin Moor became a center of purported sightings after 1978, with occasional reports of mutilated slain livestock; the alleged panther-like cats of the same region came to be popularly known as the Beast of Bodmin Moor.

A long-held hypothesis suggests the possibility that alien big cats at large in the United Kingdom could have been imported as part of private collections or zoos, later escaped or set free. An escaped big cat would not be reported to the authorities due to the illegality of owning and importing the animals. It has been claimed that animal trainer Mary Chipperfield released three pumas into the wild following the closure of her Plymouth zoo in 1978, and that subsequent sightings of the animals gave rise to rumours of the Beast.

In general, scientists reject such claims because of the improbably large numbers necessary to maintain a breeding population and because climate and food supply issues would make such purported creatures' survival in reported habitats unlikely.