Beasts of Britain: the UK’s hidden monsters

By Lee Ward and Susannah Shute

Olivia the Ostrich was found dead yesterday in her enclosure at Noah’s Ark zoo in Somerset

The muscular 7ft bird’s head had been bitten clean off, and keepers at the zoo in Wraxall, near Bristol, were baffled.

At first they thought that an ambitious, perhaps even fantastic fox had slipped through the fence and somehow managed to bring down the massive bird.

But from the shadows, experts have emerged to suggest that it might just have been one of the mysterious wild big cats – such as the famed Beast of Bodmin Moor – believed to prowl areas of south-west England.

"There have already been several sightings in the Bristol and Gloucester area,” said Chris Hall of investigative group Big Cats in Britain, “so it's quite likely that one of the beasts is to blame.

"Ostriches are no pushover and it would have been a very strong creature to try its luck with such a formidable bird."

Even the zoo’s owner, Anthony Bush, said it's possible a big cat was in the area. A sheep had been badly mauled recently, prompting one cat-fancying keeper to sleep outside in the hope of spotting a killer kitty.

Still sceptical? Join us as we take a closer look at the bewildering menagerie of monsters that lurk in this green and pleasant land. Once you’ve read these tales of big cats, lake monsters, giant black dogs and other semi-mythical beasts, you won’t be able to bury your head in the sand any longer.

Although, come to think of it, perhaps that’s what Olivia should have done…