A Freedom of Information request to Cumbria Constabulary shows officers received just three reports between 2020 and 2025.
One report related to two ‘lions’ that were “possibly running near road.”
A closure summary confirmed that the area was checked with “no sign of any loose lions,” but they did locate “local bovine youths” in a field.
In another incident, a caller believed they had seen a large, black cat, claiming it to be the size of a jaguar or leopard.
The closure summary states that the log was reviewed, and it was “likely to be a large, domesticated cat.”
A third report to police involved a possible “wild animal” at the side of a road.
The relating closure summary states: “I am satisfied that the only Snow Leopards in the vicinity are accounted for.”
The incidents, all logged in the Westmorland and Furness area, were reported in 2020, 2021, and 2023.
Cumbria Constabulary said the figures were identified using keyword searches such as “puma”, “panther”, “lynx” and “large cat”, meaning some incidents may not have been captured if different terms were used.
Despite long-standing folklore around so-called ‘big cats’ roaming the countryside, none of the reported sightings in Cumbria during this period were substantiated.
Recently a Cumbrian woman appeared on the Big Cat Conversations podcast to speak about sightings of ‘presumed black leopards’ around her farmhouse.
Liz claims she has been tracking a ‘mother and cub’ around her home for several years.
There have been a number of alleged sightings in Cumbria over the years, including a video shot in a field in Dalton in 2019, appearing to show a large black cat in the distance.
In 2018, a couple visiting South Walney Nature Reserve saw what they believed to be a big, wild cat near the coastline. However, staff at the reserve insisted it was just a ‘fat and fluffy feral cat’.