Jamie is a sheep and cattle farmer in Derbyshire. He’s experienced several big cat incidents, starting with seeing a black panther swat butterflies as a youngster while walking with his Grandmother.

Jamie describes finding a cat’s lay-up spot with prey remains, being growled at, watching eyes like car headlights through night vision, and firing a warning shot beside a cat to make it retreat.

Jamie is keen to learn more and content to live with big cats if they stick to natural prey. He describes two isolated cases of sheep and lamb kills, and considers what caused a big cat to prey-switch in those cases.

As the episode was being recorded, Don (our guest from ep 84) claimed to be watching a big cat elsewhere in Derbyshire on his thermal camera. See the footprint photo on our Refs & Links webpage, taken the next day at the spot where the animal was looking over a stone wall as Don observed it from distance.

Words of the week: Code Omerta

27 September 2026

Our First guest John Kirk is an experienced sheep and cattle farmer in the Cairngorms. His recent sighting of a black panther in the area prompted many more local reports on Facebook and to him direct. John also heard a description of a black panther fleeing the Cairngorms wildfires a week before this recording. John recounts his two other sightings of large cats in the area in the past. He explains his concerns on lynx reintroduction ideas, after attending a field trip on lynx issues in Switzerland.

John also gives a farmer’s perspective on topical wildlife issues in his part of Scotland, from wildcats to sea eagles.

Our second guest Megan has had two sightings of a large black panther in the south Wales valley where she lives. The first event was so close that it greatly influenced her, and she realises it was a leopard. Her interests have stirred the curiosity of her son Caleb and they often think about big cats on their walks in the area. Megan also explains how she judges the sheep carcasses she’s photographed that appear to be the result of big cat kills.

Word of the week: hudoliaeth

26 August 2026

Our first guest Robin Baker describes three big black cat sightings from the Forest of Dean and two pieces of his resulting artwork which include black leopards. Robin also explains his ‘Big Five’ creatures of the Dean which feature in his artwork.

Robin also explains the scowles of the Forest of Dean, a landform which inspired Tolkein’s Lord of the Ring’s Middle-earth landscape. The scowles are gullies in the woods, produced by ancient iron ore mining and now used as eerie backdrops to Star Wars and Harry Potter film scenes. These channels are also highly suited to big cats, for their routes and their ambush positions.

Our second guest is Gary Ridley, back from episode 131. He fronted the recent Big Cat Investigator program in the BBC Our Lives series, available on I Player. Gary responds to podcast listeners’ different feedback on the program. The program had an emphasis of the quest rather than the proof, and Rick and Gary discuss a key item which didn’t make the final edit…

Word of the week: scowles

29 July 2026