The 170 year old mystery of 'The Devil's Footprints' may have been solved by filmmakers who claim it was one of the first sightings of a 'big cat' in Britain. The phenomenon occurred around the Exe Estuary in Devon in February 1855, following a heavy snowfall.
Overnight, trails of hoof-like marks appeared in the snow, covering a total distance of between 50 and 100 miles. These footprints were dubbed 'The Devil's Footprints' due to their resemblance to a cloven hoof, leading some to suggest they were the tracks of Satan himself.
A newspaper at the time reported: ''The superstitious go so far as to believe that they are the marks of Satan himself.'' However, recent research suggests these marks were made by a 'big cat' prowling the countryside.
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They flew the route and studied drawings of the infamous tracks and say they were probably made by a large feline. The findings feature in the latest episode of ‘Weird Britain’ broadcast on Wednesday April 17 at 10pm on BLAZE (Freeview 64), and available on catch up at BLAZE.tv.
Guest presenter, Carl Marshall said: “The purpose of taking the investigation to the air was really to convey the distances involved and to assess the terrain. And if the distances reported at the time in 1855 are accurate, then whatever left the tracks did so at some considerable speed.
''To cover up to a hundred miles in one night, in thick snow, that’s really quite a feat – in terms of distance it’s like running three or four marathons, but factor in the darkness and the snow, and it becomes a real conundrum as to what creature if any could have been responsible.”'
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The following morning, local residents were awakened to a baffling scene, finding a trail of hoof-like prints which went across gardens, fields, and even rooftops. Whatever had left the tracks had also seemed to pass through walls and fences unhindered, for up to 100 miles according to some reports, and caused some locals to fear the tracks were left by the Devil himself.
Weird Britain producer Tim Whittard said: “We have been lucky enough to work with some excellent animal trackers on a previous project, and it just seemed logical to get them involved.
''Here we have a mystery, the whole focus of which is centred on these mysterious animal tracks, and yet, in all our research we couldn’t find that any professional trackers had ever been consulted or involved.
“We got Rhoda Watkins and Jay Opie from TrackCraft, a company specialising in wildlife tracking and mantracking to go over everything.
''What they found was amazing. Jay corroborated all the original news stories with weather reports from the time, and there was indeed an exceptionally heavy blizzard that night.
''We know the blizzard was severe, and this is where it gets interesting, because several news stories from the time detail how private animal collections and menageries in the area had enclosures destroyed and fences damaged during the snowfall, with several animals escaping, including a pair of kangaroos.
“Rhoda found that puma tracks in snowy areas of North America and Canada have been shown to melt and distort into unlikely hoof shapes in the right conditions, as well as how other variations in a puma’s gait can produce unexpected tracks which have a hoof-like shape – and when considering the terrain involved and the distance, a large agile cat is probably the most plausible candidate I’ve personally heard put forward.
''Personally, rather than the Devil having visited Devon, I think it more likely that we could be looking at one of the first recorded incidents of an escaped big cat in the area.
''The coastal town of Topsham nowadays, is a lovely tourist area offering fine dining and historic locations to visit. 'But at the time had a busy harbour with a thriving shipbuilding industry, and many imported things, including exotic animals arrived in Britain through its port, so experts think the possibility of a big cat being imported and housed nearby is actually not that unlikely.''
Presenter Andy McGrath said: “Experts believe these could have been made by a big cat, and there were menageries in the area at the time.”
Tim added: “We have been investigating lots of different legends for our new series called ‘Weird Britain’, and had been looking at the legend of the Exmoor Beast as well, so it was a surprise to learn that these two mysteries could be connected.''
TV documentary makers claim to have unravelled the identity of the Exmoor Beast in this week’s episode of ‘Weird Britain’ broadcast on Wednesday night on BLAZE.
Tim said: “It’s amazing to be able to come up with some strong evidence of a possible species for the culprit, but to actually have a potential name for one of the individual cats which started this whole legend is quite something else.”
Tune into the latest episode of 'Weird Britain', that will air on Wednesday 17th April at 10pm on BLAZE (Freeview 64), and can be watched on catch up at BLAZE. tv.
