Mysterious creature captured on camera at Bristol Zoo stumps experts

A mysterious creature has been caught on camera in Bristol Zoo Project's Bear Wood habitat and experts have been left stumped at what exactly it is.

The zoo's conservation team came across it when looking at images taken from camera traps set up in the space where bears, wolves, wolverines and lynx all live.

The experts reviewed the images and said the creature appears to have four legs and is not like anything they've seen before.

It comes after staff had reported something unusual lurking between the trees there, also catching the attention of the animals.

Rosie Sims, public engagement manager at Bristol Zoo Project, said: "The sighting of this mythical-like creature is a mystery to us here at Bristol Zoo Project and has been a great inspiration for the Halloween trail this year.

"Scotland has the Loch Ness monster and Cornwall has the Beast of Bodmin Moor – have we discovered a similar mythical here in Bristol perhaps?"

The camera trap image of the mysterious creature / Bristol Zoo Project

Camera traps are used by Bristol Zoological Society’s conservation team to monitor species that live in the Bear Wood's 7.5 acre ancient woodland habitat.

Experts have said the mysterious shape, which has been spotted on camera on several occasions now, has been impossible to identify.

However a Redditor in the Bristol Subreddit may well have cracked the case, saying the mysterious creature is actually a Muntjac deer.

According to The Wildlife Trusts, the Muntjac deer "was introduced into the UK from China in the 20th century" and "has gained a stronghold in southeast England, where it can cause damage to our woods through browsing".

An image of a Muntjac deeriStock

The species is described as a "very small, stocky deer" which is "about the same size as a medium dog".

"It is gingery-brown, with a pale underside, darker stripes in its face and small, single-pointed antlers," The Wildlife Trusts add.

Bristol Zoo Project's Halloween trail called Howl-oween: Myths and Legends starts on Friday (25 October).

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