The Surrey puma

Mysterious sightings

This publicity photo, showing a police officer holding a young bobcat, was taken and distributed between 1965 and 1967 to highlight the search for the ‘Surrey puma’.

The first sightings of a large wild cat in the county were recorded in 1964.

Between September 1964 and August 1966, Surrey Police reviewed an astonishing 362 reported sightings of the wild cat – or wild cats.

The tabloid press were so excited by the story that they dubbed the mystery feline the ‘Crondall Cougar’, ‘Munstead Monster’ and most famously the ‘Surrey Puma’.

Reports from history

Residents said they’d spotted lions and cat-like creatures.

Sightings began to die down in the 1970s, and although interest peaked in the previous decade, rumours of giant felines in Surrey can be dated much further back in history.

William Cobbett – a writer and political commenter from Farnham – reported seeing “a big grey cat, the size of a medium-sized spaniel” while visiting Waverley Abbey in 1825.

There have also been more recent sightings. Last year, a man said he had suffered injuries to his neck and shoulder after encountering a “light-coloured animal with dark spots” while walking in the Surrey Hills.

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