Big Cat Conversations

In this Cumbria update we discuss new DNA evidence with Sharon Larkin-Snowden following her input to episode 101. 

In October 2023 Sharon found a freshly consumed sheep carcass. Without realising, she…

Nick runs a farm in the English midlands which is now transforming to wildlife friendly woods and meadows.  Amongst the farm’s wildlife are sightings and signs of big cats. 

Nick recounts people’s big…

Eliza and two of her Cubs group friends came close to a black panther “with ears like a teddy bear” in their local Country Park in Spring 2023.  The location is a big greenspace, busy in the daytime …

Wayne is an angler in Essex. He describes 3 close encounters with big cats at fishing lakes. On one occasion he met with a leopard warning him off just meters away on a lakeside path. The nearby munt…

Janet is based in a remote corner of Argyll. She was unaware of the area’s long history of big cat reports until events kicked off close to her house in 2023. She explains the warning calls and the s…

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 came…

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 als…

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 ne…

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 …

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 …

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, Here…

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 …

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…

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 allege…

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 regret…

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 th…

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.…

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 …

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 …

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 …