The Puma Skull Mystery
This fascinating story concerns two youths from Lustleigh in Dartmoor National Park who found a puma skull on the edge of woodland in 1987. Simon Hopwood and Sabastian Carnell discovered the skull when out walking near their village. How did the skull get there? Was it the skull of a puma that lived on the moor and died of old age or was the skull dumped there by someone? Nearby was a discarded plastic bag and one of the teeth from the skull was on it but not in it. This does not necessarily mean that the plastic bag was anything to do with it as it's not uncommon to find discarded plastic bags in the countryside. Animals lose teeth naturally. As you will read in the newspaper account, it was declared to be the skull of a puma by staff at Paignton Zoo. However the skull got where it was found, the fact remains that pumas live in Dartmoor National Park and in other parts of Devon. I suspect it did indeed belong to a puma that lived and died on the moor but the story remains a mystery!
I met Simon Hopwood's father David at a talk I gave about Big Cats in Devon at Bovey Tracey on the 11th of March 2025. He had arranged to bring the skull along to the meeting as a surprise for me and most of the members of the Probus Club. It certainly was a surprise to see the puma skull and to hear the tale of its discovery!
I met Simon Hopwood's father David at a talk I gave about Big Cats in Devon at Bovey Tracey on the 11th of March 2025. He had arranged to bring the skull along to the meeting as a surprise for me and most of the members of the Probus Club. It certainly was a surprise to see the puma skull and to hear the tale of its discovery!
