The elusive 'Beast of Cumbria' has been talked about by locals for decades, with some even believing that the 'big cat' is of paranormal original.

The cause however, is most likely down to a change in the keeping of exotic pets.

In the 1960s, big cats were a popular fashion accessory and could even be purchased in Harrods.

READ MORE: 'Big cat and cub' spotted in Cumbrian countryside

READ MORE: The big cats spotted in South Cumbria over the decades

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In 1976, an expensive licence was introduced however and it is thought that many big cats were released into the wild.

What we see today may actually be the ancestors of these animals with DNA evidence discovered in Cumbria countryside in May of this year.

Cumbrian big cat investigator Sharon Larkin-Snowden swabbed a sheep carcass last year with Warwick university confirming the presence of panthera DNA. 

We took a look at five big cats that have been photographed and are allegedly roaming in the Countryside.

Dalton 2008

(Image: Kath Hayhurst) A woman from Burton-in-Kendal sent in this image of what she described as a 22-inch black cat.

86-year-old writer and local historian, Kath Hayhurst, was travelling in Dalton towards Hutton Roof Crags with her husband when they spotted a dead cat at the roadside near Plain Quarry. 

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She says she took the photograph in the day time of August that year after a spate of black cat sightings in Dalton.

Its features were described more like a domestic cat, rather than a zoo-like cat, but 'just a lot larger'. 

Walney 2018

A couple visiting South Walney Nature Reserve in 2018 were left in shock after spotting what they believe was a big wild cat near to the coastline.

Retired couple Lesley Stenhouse and her partner Gary Sweetman were on a five-day break in South Cumbria when they saw a 'fairly big black thing' that went up into a sand dune. 

The animal was described as 'being about half a metre in height' when it stood up next to a tuft of grass.

The nature reserve refuted the sighting however, who insisted it was just a 'fat and fluffy feral cat'.

Dalton 2019

Returning to Dalton, a large cat was filmed by dog-walkers  in the fields close to Dalton Bypass in 2019. 

South Lakes Safari Zoo's animal manager David Armitage watched the footage, and though he believed this may be a domestic animal, he indicated that any more sightings 'could be more serious'.

Kendal 2020

Kendal is no stranger to big cats and in 2020, what was believed to be a caracal, with others calling it a 'wild puma'.

Although the exact location of the spotting is unknown, it is widely believed that this was near Kendal.

The snap matched recent sightings of what were claimed to large cats in the Southern Lake District area, including another one that was  spotted in Bowness-on-Windermere.

The woman who spotted the animal said she stopped to get something out of her van when the saw the animal eating a pigeon.

Coniston 2024

Lewis Dailly from Wolverhampton was on holiday over the New Year Period and believes he single-handedly captured a mysterious 'lynx-like' beast prowling around in the countryside.

Speaking at the time, Lewis said: "I just looked out my back window from the holiday cottage I’m staying at and I saw something moving.

"So I quickly grabbed my iPad and started filming because it looked and moved bigger than a domestic cat.

"I tried to get a family member, then it gone in to the bushes".

Many who viewed the footage at the time believed it to be a Lynx, or even a Eurasian Lynx which were reported to have died out 1,400 years ago.