I can relate to you, Max Lury (A moment that transformed me: I spotted a large feline on Dartmoor – and nobody believed me, 8 April). Back in 1982, during my teacher training, I was traversing Exmoor as part of an outdoor education course with a fellow student. Both of us, being biologists, were navigating an area characterized by rugged grassland interspersed with shallow ditches that sloped gently, bordered by patches of overgrown heather and gorse on the far side of the ditch.

On a clear mid-morning, we were approximately 70 to 100 yards from a specific ditch when we noticed a substantial, tan-hued creature sprinting away from us along the ditch. It had a broad face and an elongated tail that exhibited a bushy tuft at the end. The tail arched upward, and as it ran, the animal curved its back, propelling its front legs forward in a distinctive manner.

We observed this animal for roughly six to eight seconds before it vanished from sight. Turning to each other simultaneously, we exclaimed, “That’s an exceptionally large cat!”

We were firmly convinced that we had encountered either a puma or a mountain lion. This leads us to believe that, at the very least, there was one large cat roaming the area during the 1980s. Steve Jones, Shobrooke, Devon

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