The People's Podcast on Big Cat encounters in Britain. In each episode Rick Minter discusses big cat sightings with different witnesses, finding out what they s...
BCC EP:120 British lynx & leopards – more police memoirs
Two retired police officers report their big cat encounters and incidents, including black leopards & lynx. We conclude the episode with comments on the January 2025 lynx release & capture saga from Paul Macdonald of Scottish Big Cat Research.Andrew our first guest from County Durham recounts his encounter with what he believes was a black leopard, when walking his dog in 2003. Through his police activity he then learnt about similar big black cat reports nearby, and his interest in the subject grew. Nick from Kent nearly hit a big black cat in his vehicle when driving on police duty in the back lanes of Kent, in 1994. Nick raced out of the car to pursue the animal and soon realised the folly of his actions. A colleague then had a nearby sighting, which they felt may have been the same cat, while another contact shot a lynx in error, as it was flushed from woodland when he was out shooting foxes.   16 January 2025 Word of the week:  truncheon
-------- Â
1:28:14
BCC EP:119 Over the hedge – big cats of Hereford & Worcestershire
Our end-of-year extended episode features Mandy from Worcestershire and Jon from neighbouring Herefordshire.Mandy explains the events which led to her setting-up a big cats Facebook group in Worcestershire, as a hotline for reports and discussion. Her own sighting was a close-up view of a black leopard type of cat, and instantly drew her to the subject.Jon watched a puma slink through his garden one night in 2003, close to the house he was renovating. His initial shock and concern turned to respect for big cats, as he and his wife experienced three different large cats in and around their remote garden until they moved in 2018. Jon kept a ‘big cat diary’ throughout that time – he takes us through the events for this episode.  Word of the week:  estrangement12 December 2024
-------- Â
1:47:36
BCC EP:118 Mother & cub on the moors – son of the Exmoor Beast
Tommy had two sightings of black panthers in the north of Exmoor as a teenager in the 90s. His first viewing was of a mother guiding a small cub, which made a lasting impression on him. Tommy recounts a local vicar’s sighting of a big black cat at the time, and he explains how local teenagers related to the Exmoor Beast legend. Later in his army career, Tommy heard fellow soldiers admitting to seeing pumas on Ministry of Defence land in Northumberland.  Word of the week:  Inquisitive17 November 2024
-------- Â
59:56
BCC EP:117 The leopard, the cub & the farmyard strays – in the company of cats
Liz describes several encounters with a black leopard visiting the farmyard where she and her husband feed the farm cats. She has been watched and advanced on by the large cat and is now fully alert to its potential presence.  On one occasion Liz noticed a small panther like cat dart out of cover to catch up with the big cat, and realised it was a cub rushing to its mother.  Liz reports how the farm cats change behaviour due to the bigger cats’ presence, and she explains how she and her husband adapt their life, living in anticipation of their new stealthy neighbours.  Words of the week:  teddy bear  25 October 2024
-------- Â
1:17:59
BCC EP:116 The clawed carcass - grappling with the evidence?
Craig our guest returns after episode 72 when he re-lived his Exmoor big cat encounters in the 1980s.Now based in Herefordshire, Craig explains the big cat reports and potential activity occurring in his own village, right where he walks his dogs. He has been followed by an animal with large piercing eyeshine which alarmed his dogs, and he has recently found two fresh deer carcasses, one freshly devoured, and the other was still warm, had a severed windpipe, and showed claw marks raked down the muzzle and throat.  Craig also had a close view of a puma crossing his path in the Black Mountains, near Hay on Wye, in 2023. His photos and videos of these incidents, showing his immediate reactions, can be viewed on the podcast website…  https://bigcatconversations.com/refs-links/Word of the week:  kleptoparasite4 October 2024
The People's Podcast on Big Cat encounters in Britain. In each episode Rick Minter discusses big cat sightings with different witnesses, finding out what they saw or sensed, how they felt, and how these cases fit a bigger picture.
UK