The beast of Hackney Marshes....well, not really.

In my book MYSTERY ANIMALS OF THE BRITISH ISLES: LONDON I devoted a small section to what became known, in the early 1980s, as the 'beast of Hackney Marshes,' not quite as mysterious sounding as the 'beast of Exmoor', but there you go. Anyway, in the early '80s there were rumours that a bear was on the loose around the marsh area and one snowy morning a group of boys claimed to have encountered the creature which somehow eluded police despite - allegedly - leaving behind a few mysterious footprints. And now we skip to 2012, and a link at Cryptomundo  from May (sorry I took so long to post it) which presents a photo some claim to be the elusive Hackney Marshes beast. Okay so it's a dog, but it keeps the legend alive!