Our first guest Graham recounts a close encounter with a large black cat on the Isle of Skye during one of his fishing trips. We discuss how a cat like a black leopard could have arrived on Skye and how well such a cat could go unnoticed in the island’s wild terrain.  

For our second guest we catch up with Scotland research coordinator Paul Macdonald. Amongst recent highlights he describes two clips of footage shown to him at a recent rural show stand, and a report of a roadside puma carcass being recovered by a military crew.   

Thanks to Scottish folk singer Shona Donaldson for Beast o’the Bin.

Word of the week:   Fieldwork

12 September 2024

In this Summer edition we discuss pumas encountered in the wild on the England & Wales border in the Wye Valley, but we also visit a special sanctuary for re-homed exotic pets, also in the Wye Valley area. 

Our first guest Grant, explains how he and friends were advanced on by a puma when they were out lamping foxes one night. Grant describes the intense eye shine and what happened as the cat got closer…

Our second guest Lindsay has experience with large cats from South Africa. Now she runs Wildside Exotic Rescue, where pumas, lynx and a serval are amongst the rescued animals cared for. She explains the challenges of looking after the cats and the other animals, and she reflects on the consequences of people owning and needing to give up their exotic pets. The pumas are sometimes fed deer, and will be involved in a special scientific experiment to help big cat studies in Britain…

Visit www.wildsideexoticrescue.co.uk to learn more about Wildside and support the work of Lindsay and the team there. 

Words of the week:   scientific controls

21 August 2024

We hear from Paul, an investigator near John O’Groats in north-east Scotland.  He re-tells several big cat sighting reports from recent years, and he explains his use of trail cams, night vision cameras, and lures.    

Last summer he followed up a local black leopard report, then found himself in a dense woodland with a growling cat just a few feet away. The scary incident took a twist later that night… 

Words of the week:   nape bite

17 January 2024

Peter our guest explains the challenge of living with a freshly released black panther around his property in southern Spain. (An area which is not part of the Iberian lynx’s range).

As he realised a panther was making regular visits close to his home, Peter had to adapt to the animal itself, and the different views of his guests, local people, hunters and the police… 

Words of the week:   Xeric,  Xerocole

13 January 2020

Cumbrian sculptor Shawn Williamson recounts his view of a panther spooking deer in the back lanes of the Lake District. He explains how panthers and big cats inspire some of his sculpture making.

Rick and Shawn also discuss people’s elemental connections with wildlife including big cats and even the Tasmanian wolf or Thylacine, which itself has a historical link with Cumbria, as Shawn explains.

Words of the week: General Impression of Size and Shape (GISS)

28 December 2019

Lincolnshire witnesses Wendy and Angela discuss the quandary of spreading the word about local big cats amongst sceptical neighbours.  

Wendy was growled at by a puma when she disturbed it stalking feral cats. Her friend Angela is 12 miles away and has encountered black big cats, seeing a mother and young one night. 

Word of the week:   Feral

15 December 2019

Our guest Peter Taylor suggests that rewilding helps nature and the human soul. He meets Rick at Wild Place, a new outpost of Bristol Zoo. Here brown bears, wolves and lynx can be viewed in a British woodland setting. 

Peter considers how Eurasian lynx could be re-introduced in Britain but only with support from local communities. Rick and Peter note that spontaneous rewilding has already happened in parts of Britain where large cats are a hidden part of the ecosystem.     

Watch the video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qseZzVejfyM

Words of the week:   Intra-guild predation 

1 December 2019

We meet Gareth who lives in Gateshead district in north-east England. He describes how he had a surprise view of a puma stalking a deer on holiday in Florida a few years back. He then explains what happened early one morning in October 2019 when walking his dog in his local park, when he witnessed the same type of animal. 

Gareth and Rick consider how a puma might pass through residential areas like Gateshead, and other north-east sightings are discussed. Gareth also wonders why, several years back, he and colleagues never found anything when rushing out of their office into adjacent woodland, to sounds which they thought were a woman in distress… 

Word of the week:   Introgression 

13 November 2019

An in-depth discussion on the panthers and pumas reported across Australia with author and researcher Simon Townsend from Victoria.

Simon explains why he feels the Australian panthers match black leopards and are not outsize feral cats. Tawny coloured cats resembling pumas are also reported, which Simon includes in his accounts of witness reports. The discussion ranges over the origins of these cats, the likely prey carcasses which Simon examines, and attitudes of remote communities. Documentary makers are now on the case with Simon, revealing another side to the Australian Bush.  

Words of the week:    Macropod ,  Marsupial lion

31 October 2019

We discuss how big cats use heathland as their territory with Jonathan McGowan, and hear about two of his encounters in Dorset and the New Forest. He scouts out suspected prey remains of deer in these areas, looking for tell-tale tooth marks on the bones. 

We then hear from Dr Andrew Hemmings in the lab at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester.  After receiving these skeletal remains from Jonathan and others, students gauge the tooth marks to identify those which match the scale and pattern of puma and leopard carnassial teeth.  Andrew discusses how tooth-pit analysis can contribute to the evidence base for big cats in Britain. 

Words of the week:   Citizen science

16 October 2019

Matt Everett describes holding the gaze of a black leopard after he confronted the animal from his car on a sunken Somerset lane. The incident inspired him to create the forthcoming documentary Britain’s Big Cat Mystery. We hear some of the highlights and challenges from making the production. 

Our second guest Paul explains his sighting of a black panther in deepest Dorset and the reaction of his dogs on rushing back to the scene. Paul explains how you become more immersed in nature when searching for signs of big cats. 

Word of the week:   Stealth

3 October 2019

An in-depth interview with Nigel Spencer reveals how he and his late father supported police follow-up work on big cat reports in Leicestershire & Rutland. Nigel recounts his own sighting of a puma in Essex and summarises key big cat incidents from Leicestershire including from farms, quarries, stables and gardens.  Our second guest Emma from Leicestershire explains how she is now extra-cautious when walking in the countryside after retreating from the scene of a panther consuming a rabbit or hare in fields close to her house. 

Words of the Week:  The Recorder Effect

22 September 2019

If you thought Buckinghamshire and the Chilterns was a tame area of countryside close to London, maybe think again…

We hear from Darren who kept close watch of his dog when he realised a young puma was nearby in scrubby land by an airfield – he felt the mother could be close by. Darren is a councillor and discusses the pros and cons of acknowledging the presence of big cats.  We then discuss the recent history of big cat sightings in the Chilterns with Paulo. He grew up in North London but was inspired to learn about Chilterns big cats by his teacher who claimed to have seen some. Paulo takes us through highlights of recent reports, discusses what we can learn from the leopards of Mumbai, and reveals how he accidently called up a leopard through the sound of his chainsaw.

Word of the week:  Varmint  

8 September 2019

Adam’s Grandfather’s once had a big cat sighting in Sherwood Forest and now, decades later, Adam has just experienced a large black cat in the same area - we hear the details in this episode.

Adam also discusses several big cat encounters he’s heard of from friends and contacts in Nottinghamshire and Shropshire, as well as some perfect footage of a puma he was shown. As an ecologist he meets people in remote parts of the English midlands who are in prime positions to witness wildlife. He also considers the niche available for big cats in the British landscape, and he explains how a lifetime of observing wildlife can bring the odd surprise. 

More notes for the episode at:  bigcatconversations.com/refs-links/

Words of the week:   niche   &   vigil

27 December 2023

Our two different guests explain the challenges of sheep farming when a big cat makes a visit. Gordon ran a small sheep enterprise when he was based in south Wales. A silent predator would sometimes take one of his ewes (also called yowes) or a tup (young male). Gordon explains how he made adjustments to life on the farm as he realised a large cat was making occasional visits. Our second guest Jean runs a croft in North Scotland. At certain times she and especially her neighbour lose yowes to a large predator on their crofting land – they feel they are experiencing a rogue big cat, and a black panther gets reported in the area... 

Word(s) of the week:  Obligate carnivore

1 September 2019

Gloucestershire’s Frank Tunbridge recounts his own close-up encounter with a big cat in the Cotswolds – he watched it snatch some rabbit bait at dusk and it later crept behind and gave him a warning growl. Frank then discusses the stealth of cats like leopards and pumas and refers to the writings of Jim Corbett who tracked leopards and tigers in India last century. 

We hear highlights from some of the witness reports Frank receives, and the questions these beg… Are the big cats here sometimes targeting domestic cats? And are some of the panthers seen in Britain assumed to be black leopards but possibly something else…? 

Word of the week: Digitigrade

1 September 2019

We hear snippets from big cat witnesses in and around Exmoor as we visit Exmoor Zoo and the North Devon Show. A zoo keeper explains her encounter with a wild puma, while a retired butcher describes his view of two panthers isolating their prey in a flock of sheep several years back in Exmoor. We speak to Endymion and pay tribute to the late Trevor Beer, the naturalist and writer who researched big cats in Devon, and we hear from Alex who had a brush with a panther on the high moors. The Exmoor Beast lives on…

Word(s) of the week:  Confirmation bias

August 2019

We hear from Coryn near Stroud in Gloucestershire who explains her several sightings of a black panther across the valley from her house. She managed to film some snippets of the cat and she explains how it was scaled. Find out what happened when she later saw the same or a different black panther much closer.

We also speak to Dave, 20 miles away, who was out lamping one night when he noticed an animal watching him from the other side of the field. As he moved closer and checked its eye shine he started to realise it wasn’t the fox he’d assumed… 

Word of the week:  Preternatural

August 2019

Most witnesses of big cats in Britain claim to see one cat. This would match the fact that most species of wild cat are mainly solitary in their lifestyles. In this episode each of our guests watched two cats together. We meet Di who watched a mother and cub black panther as she walked in her local Somerset countryside, and then we hear from John who came close to two adult pumas (also called cougars and mountain lions) as he cycled to work down a back lane early one morning in Gloucestershire.

Word of the week:  Crepuscular (and Dimpsey)   

August 2019

We hear Sue’s experience after 10 years’ worth of big cat sightings and incidents around her stables in Essex.

Her daughter and sons have had close sightings, and in one of Sue’s encounters she was next to a black panther in the stable yard at dusk.

Sue describes some severe impacts on two of the horses after close confrontations with a big cat, and she explains the ongoing extra costs she is faced with in feed and vets’ bills, managing the stables alongside the varying visits of big cats. 

Words of the week:   foxlights  predator deterrent

11 December 2023

Charles reflects on his two encounters with a black panther or leopard, 21 years apart, both while caravanning and trekking in Cumbria. 

For the first incident Charles was in touching distance of the big cat as he entered his caravan awning and discovered it there – Charles recounts the moments he found himself closed in with a panther beside him… 

 Word of the week:   catstycam

 19 November 2022

We catch up with Cumbrian investigator Sharon Larkin at the end of the Westmorland Show where Rick and Sharon were meeting witnesses and visitors to the big cat stand.

Sharon explains how she follows up reports on her Facebook page, Big Cats in Cumbria. She describes several of her own encounters with large black cats and she justifies why she believes these are leopards, including the one she photographed near Gretna in 2014 as it spooked cows and consumed a rabbit.  

South West investigator Paul Ramsden visited the show and also chipped in, comparing Cumbria’s big cat landscape with his home base in Gloucestershire. He and Sharon recount their highlights from people’s reports at the big cat stand at the show. 

We are also joined by Ian, Sharon’s husband. He describes his own big cat sighting and he and Sharon reflect on the family’s experience living with the subject and owning two cats bred from servals… 

More show notes, photos and messages are on this link…  bigcatconversations.com/refs-links/ 

Words of the week:   savannah cats

30 September 2023

For our centenary show we met with 25 contacts in a Herefordshire pub, to talk big cats, sample the local cider, and eat celebration panther cakes. 

We heard sighting reports from Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Dorset – two of which were genuinely ‘close’ encounters.  David, one of the witnesses, also described the perfect footage he’d been shown of a black leopard in Herefordshire.

Mark Graves led a discussion on tracking and ‘where next?’ for investigating big cats, and we heard different views on how best to use a sum of £5,000 for getting more evidence. 

When we discussed big cats in our culture, Fleur reminded us of Roman finds in Britain in which the Greek god of wine and dance Dionysus is accompanied by a panther… 

Look out for Youtube extracts of this episode 100 to be linked on the Big Cat Conversations website and YT Channel in late August 2023.  

Word of the week:   spoor

19 August 2023

Phebe has been following-up big cat reports in different places for 30 years.  She’s been trusted with local information on big cat incidents, and has witnessed a lynx in Hertfordshire and two black leopards together in SW Wales.

We hear of her own cat encounters and some memorable information she’s received from friends and contacts experiencing big cats. We also discuss whether the reported cats may be staying close to the sources of their first releases, or if other suitable areas are becoming a sink for them.   

Words of the week:   exotic animals  

29 July 2023

Gareth is a reporter for local papers in Derbyshire and joins us as another journalist guest on the podcast, following Tristan in episode 94. 

Gareth has had a long-term interest in big cat encounters and has glimpsed one himself. He explains how big cat stories get high hit rates in the media, so local newspapers welcome news of people’s sightings.  

Gareth describes some key big cat events in Derbyshire, including the release of lynx at the former Riber Castle zoo, the long-running Carsington Beast reports, and a farmer finding his dogs confronting a lynx.  

Gareth also reflects on the time he received a hoax report and photo, and Rick refers to some recent big cat cases in Derbyshire and a TV show episode due in Summer 2023 which features Derbyshire big cat cases. 

See our Refs and Links page at  https://bigcatconversations.com/refs-links/  for details of the May 2023 YouGuv survey on people’s belief in big cats living wild in Britain. 

Words of the week:   media algorithm

7 July 2023

In the first half we hear from Jayne – she caught sight of a black panther with several of her jogging friends one morning this year in Somerset. Other friends had previously told her of their alleged reports at the Glastonbury festival area. 

In the second half, Mark Graves returns after episode 95. He reflects on a recent day spent with big cat investigators in Gloucestershire, and he explains how he survived a crocodile attack during his time in South Africa.      

Words of the week:   aposematic colouration

17 June 2023

George is a retired gamekeeper in Herefordshire. He recounts his sighting of a local black panther, and many years before, a puma in a forest near Bodmin in Cornwall. 

George also discusses his regrets at shooting an adult black panther as well as what appeared to be a young one, in recent years in Herefordshire – local farmers were experiencing sheep kills at the time. George explains why both the shot cats matched the description of a leopard.

George considers that from his experience, farmers and keepers may tolerate big cats if they avoid sheep predation.     

Word of the week:   DNA

26 May 2023

Steve our guest trains his working gun dog, a springer spaniel every morning at dawn. We hear of four occasions when he’s encountered a large black cat in his local Cheshire countryside.  For one of the sightings the animal had a pronounced limp.  On the BCC website (Refs & Links, Ep 113) Steve compares his sighting to the footage of a limping large black cat filmed in Scotland last year.

Steve and Rick also discuss the footage of an alleged large black cat filmed in Steve’s area of Cheshire in January 2024. The footage was shown in the media at the time and is now on the BCC website to view. 

Steve also recalls seeing a Scottish wildcat in Scotland and we hear about black panther and lynx reports mentioned on his fishing trips in Scotland. 

Word of the week:   observant  

27 July 2024

Former South African farmer & wilderness guide Mark Graves briefs us on living with leopards in South Africa, where he has guided Kruger National Park visitors and trained trackers on leopards and the Big 5. 

Mark takes us through some of his close observations of leopards and he explains the moments when he once had to face and retreat from an advancing lioness. Now based in Britain, Mark discusses the large cats reportedly living here, and considers how we can live alongside them. 

 Word of the week:   anthropomorphism 

5 May 2023

Tristan is senior reporter at the Bristol Post newspaper where big cat stories are rare. In contrast, he routinely heard of people’s big cat incidents in his former role with the Western Daily Press.  

We hear highlights of the big cat accounts he reported on, and learn how he realised big cat sightings were a genuine  part of the rural scene. Then one day, a large stealthy black animal arrived in his own local fields…   

 Word of the week:   clickbait

14 April 2023

Steve our guest has spent half a lifetime investigating big cat reports in southern England – he takes us through key events in Oxfordshire in recent years, including the search for a puma body, the secrets of the Charlbury panther, and a big cat caught in a cage trap which then went missing. 

We learn about his time volunteering at a big cat sanctuary in Colorado, and hear how he links with his local police contacts. His own sightings include watching a black panther emerge with a friend, who just minutes earlier had mocked Steve’s interest in the topic.  

 Word of the week:   misidentification

25 March 2023

Alex our guest has had several big cat encounters in South West England, one of which involved a black panther creeping up behind him. He reflects on these experiences in this episode. Rick and Alex also discuss the challenge of raising awareness of large predators while minimising the fear factor.  

We also hear about Alex’s most recent sightings in south Devon, and discuss the interesting results on his trail cameras. 

Word of the week:   cryptic

6 March 2023

A panther and cubs next to a fishing tent, gamekeepers’ attitudes to big cats, a large cat carcass by the A9, admissions of lynx releases, and recent dashcam footage from West Highlands – we hear of these and other snippets as Paul MacDonald updates us on recent big cat highlights from Scotland.   

We also hear some modern folklore, as The Black Beast of Bin, a poem from 1994, written following big cat sightings in the Huntly area of Aberdeenshire at the time, is sung specially for the podcast by Scottish folk singer Shona Donaldson.  

Words of the week:   Origin stories

12 February 2023

Andy and Claire explain why they are committed to tracking and learning about big cats in the Stroud area of Gloucestershire – we hear about their findings so far, from tree scratches, potential big cat calls, scat, carcasses of potential prey, and tantalising trail camera shots. 

Words of the week:   AI poetry    

24 January 2023

Louise describes three different large cat encounters in Scotland, including meeting a lynx in her local woodland in Angus. As it noticed her, she felt vulnerable and time became fixed at that heart-stopping moment.

11 years later a friend and neighbour of Louise had an encounter near the same location, on the edge of town – showing that such predators can be closer than we think… 

Words of the week:   A clowder of cats 

8 January 2023

Lewis describes being confronted by a black panther in the Chilterns area back in 2006, on the edge of the Prime Minister’s Chequers estate. Lewis was with three friends messing about in the snow by moonlight, when the panther emerged. Lewis describes events as they fled from the hill.  

Our second guest is the experienced investigator Paulo, who runs the Big Cats of the Chilterns FB page. He updates us on recent trends of sightings across the Chilterns area, and we finish with details of a fresh big cat incident very close to Paulo’s home in mid December 2022. 

Words of the week:   call blasters & hunting decoys

22 December 2022

We hear from Bernard, an experienced stalker in the south of Ireland. He watched two adult black panthers resting in a field one evening in October 2022, as he walked his dog. There seemed to be a  third smaller cat with them. 

Bernard takes us through the incident and tries to make sense of the remarkable scene.    

We finish with news of the big cats poem & limerick competition.

Words of the week:   a destruction of cats

6 December 2022

Rob explains his boyhood interest in the Exmoor Beast and roaming local woods for signs of big cats. Now living in British Canada, Rob encounters different wild animals on his regular mountain hikes. He describes his recent close observation of a dark coloured Canadian lynx, and his family’s confrontation with a growling stalking cougar. 

Rob explains why he carries protective bear spray and knives in his rucksack after seeing black bears close to his hiking trails, and he discusses how local people adapt to living alongside cougars and bears.

Rob finishes by commenting on recent night-vision footage taken in Devon and available to view on the Big Cat Conversations website, Refs & Links page for episode 86. 

Word of the week:   slesse  

22 November 2022

Our first guest Richard recounts a sudden episode of big cat reports from his time as a local police officer in Wiltshire. One of the cases involved a threatened domestic cat.

In the second part we catch up with tracker and wildlife guide Mark Graves who was first on ep 95. He explains why some photographed footprints and plaster casts are evidence for big cats in Scotland and in Dorset, and he discusses a call which matches a leopard vocalisation, recorded recently in a Devon woodland.  

We also reflect on a recent press report of a camper experiencing a black panther advancing towards him in a Derbyshire campsite. Mark gives feedback after speaking with the witness. 

Finally, Mark and Rick consider how distinct the British big cats may be, tuned as they are to the UK environment.  

 Words of the week:   character release

3 July 2024

Bob received big cat reports in the 1990s during his career with Warwickshire police – it became more real on duty one night when he saw a black panther himself. 

John our second guest also served with Warwickshire police - he investigated a crashed car incident one night in 2003 when his police dog Russ let him know there was something about, as a panther emerged on the scene…

John discusses his experience working with dogs in the police and currently with Cornwall Search Dogs, and he and Rick consider how dogs could be deployed for tracking big cats. 

Words of the week:   scat detection dogs

3 November 2022

Don saw a black panther or leopard in Derbyshire in 1989 at a time when local farmers and police were reporting sightings of a big black cat in the Derbyshire press.  

Don retained his interest in the topic and brought a thermal camera in 2022 to film local wildlife and hopefully a big cat. Within a few weeks he noticed one of the blobs on his thermal footage was cat shaped, and larger than any foxes and badgers he had filmed. Seeing the shape again Don concluded he was indeed filming a large cat. It is judged to be around 109 cms from nose to rump.   

Don discusses the thermal footage on this episode. A selection of the video recordings and stills taken from the videos are on the Big Cat Conversations website, under ep 84 of the Refs & Links page.     

Word of the week:   monopod

13 October 2022

We join investigator Paul Ramsden for a visit to two big cat sighting spots in Gloucestershire. We look out along the edge of the Cotswold hills and then go deep into a hidden valley woodland. 

Paul explains how mammals including big cats would use the woodland and he considers prime places for trail cameras for filming any large cats. Rick describes past panther, puma and lynx reports in the area and Paul recounts his own past big cat sighting that happened in Dorset.

Words of the week:   a glaring of cats  

28 September 2022 

Clare met a black leopard watching her from a ditch in a Somerset lane back in 1993. Her family’s dogs and horses had been spooked at the time, sensing a possible predator nearby.

In a wide-ranging discussion including the wonders of the Zanzibar leopard and the search for the supposedly lost Thylacine, Clare discusses her experience working with leopards, puma and lynx at a zoo, and lessons she learnt about the traits of these cats for their behaviour in the wild in Britain. 

Words of the week:   electromagnetic shielding  

14 September 2022

Darren Millar the Welsh Parliament Member for Clwyd West believes the Welsh Government should be researching big cats – we hear from Darren at the Denbigh and Flint Show in August 2022. We then hear from Carla who witnessed a black cat as big as her labrador dog in mid Wales in early August – when she returned to the spot the next day she was hissed at and fled the scene. 

Finally we hear from Michelle – she drove past a big cat’s body over 20 years ago and had a black panther sighting near Carmarthen in south west Wales in 2007.

Words of the week:   Magnus cattus 

29 August 2022

Charlie watched a lynx sunning itself at the edge of his village in Kent, then two years later he had a close encounter with a puma on the other side of the village. 

Charlie compares the wild Kent puma with one he witnessed in Alberta, Canada, and one he studied at a big cat sanctuary. 

Charlie also discusses how he is naturally fearful of panthers due to the black colour, but he explains why the most dangerous local animal he’s encountered is a deer.   

 Word of the week:   Klandagi       

8 August 2022

Kayleigh our first guest was driving when she and her dog both reacted to a large black panther in front of the car near forestry land in south west Wales in March 2022. Kayleigh feels that large black cats are now quietly accepted as part of the South Wales environment in some remote areas.  

Our second guest Adam was walking in the Rhonda area in south Wales with a friend in winter 2022 – they noticed a large black panther run down a track and make two attempts at sheep as it got disturbed. Although his friends scoff at the report, Adam is keen to understand more about the hidden big cats of South Wales.      

Word of the week:   phenomenon

19 July 2022

Chris is a metal detectorist in North Wiltshire – he has had 3 big cat encounters including a puma descending a tree and warning him. We hear from an experienced detectorists as he explains highlights of his recent finds, including close views of three different big cats, and deer carcasses which have been examined for tooth pits…

Word of the week:    Cat-tecting

4 July 2022

Our first guest Martin describes seeing a black panther move towards his son who was cycling in front of him and unaware of the animal. In terms of public awareness, Martin is concerned at the fear that any big cat information signs could create.

Our second guest John had a lynx come close to him in a Surrey woodland – he explains how he remained calm and avoided a possible confrontation. Earlier this year, close to the first sighting location, he saw a smaller lynx which bounded off, keeping away. John compares the two cats’ different behaviours and in discussing his close encounter, he is keen to avoid any alarmism.   

Word of the week:   resilience

20 June 2022

Carole from Aberdeenshire was feeding farm feral cats in the 1990s when a sleek black panther turned up. In the following weeks she had four sightings of two different large black cats in the area, and took a photo which resulted in a distant blob. She has received many reports of similar cats in the region and has investigated carcasses of their suspected prey. She has also seen “Kellas cats” and thinks these could represent a mutant felis cat which roams parts of Britain.     

Word of the week:   ailurophilia

5 June 2022

We hear from Andy and from Gail, the different witnesses mentioned by Nick on his farm in episode 109. Andy and Gail speak about their own various big cat incidents during their farm visits, and they have each had one close up account… 

Andy confronted a large black “panther-leopard” one evening at the barns. Gail was on her way to the campsite portaloo when she watched a big black cat sitting in the early morning sun.

The cat-like footprint photographed by Nick for episode 109 (BCC website, Refs & Links page) may match the scale of the cat described by Gail. 

Word of the week:   coexistence   

8 June 2024