A community podcast exploring the connections between people, place and nature over the passage of time.
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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.
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BCC EP:113 Daybreak with the Cheshire leopards
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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 …
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BCC EP:112 The policeman, the prints & the calling leopard
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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…
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BCC EP:111 Cat at the campsite, panther at the portaloo
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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 port…
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BCC EP:110 Panthera Cumbria - DNA developments
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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 also disturbed a big black cat at the scene. Later she swabbed the carcass for any saliva present, for a lab test. She and Rick discuss the DNA result…
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BCC EP:109 The changing farm - new woods & new predators
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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 cat encounters in the area and he describes the suspicious prints and the potential big cat lay-up spot found on his farm. He runs the farm in the know…
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BCC EP:108 Dusk in the park – kids & the curious panther
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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 with families and visitors on the edge of town, adding to the shock and surprise felt by Eliza and friends. Eliza and her mum Sarah join us to discuss t…
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BCC EP:107 Fishing fright – the lakeside leopard warning
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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 muntjac deer might owe its life to Wayne’s presence, as he stumbled upon the scene between the cat and the deer. He got close enough to see the big cat’s m…
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BCC EP:106 Forest echoes – Argyll’s big cat calls
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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 sightings she experienced locally and coincidentally when visiting Aberdeenshire. Janet is a professional photographer and explains how she is adapting …
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BCC EP:105 Top corner cats – tracking the Caithness leopards
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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…
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BCC EP:104 Sherwood & Shropshire – glimpses in the Greenwood
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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…
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BCC EP:103 The spectre at the stables – big cats bothering horses
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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, an…
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BCC EP:102 Fight or flight? Cumbria’s cornered cat
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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… W…
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In this, the first podcast of our Autumn season, We are Curious join Gilcrux and District Social Fund for a day out in, and on, Windermere, 18 October 2023. And, on 14 October, we visited a community event in Denton Holme, Carlisle, where we met some really inspirational people...By We are Curious Cumbria
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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 beli…
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BCC EP:100 Where the wild things are
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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 …
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BCC EP:99 The dumping grounds – exploring the rogue wildlife
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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 bi…
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BCC EP:98 Derbyshire dales – hidden homes of the big cats
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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.…
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BCC EP:97 Crossing paths with a Glastonbury panther
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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 in…
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A special edition podcast, thanks to your feedback.By We are Curious Cumbria
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BCC EP:96 Gamekeeper big cat diaries
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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 she…
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BCC EP:95 Living with leopards - Africa & Britain compared
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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 adva…
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We are Curious about Hedgerows and The Hairy Cap Inn
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... and (continuing our mini series about Macbeth and his connection to the Lords of Allerdale,) the history of Old Siward.By We are Curious Cumbria
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BCC EP:94 West Country big cats – behind the headlines
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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 on…
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We visit our friend, blacksmith David Watson, at his farmstead and forge in West Cumbria. (This episode was previously published as an m4a, this version is mp3 and so will be available on several podcast channels it wasn't available on before.)By We are Curious Cumbria
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We are Curious about Macbeth and the Lords of Allerdale
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... and we visit our friend, David Purcell. David is a professional actor, one time defence solicitor and judge, and now a debut author. I've uploaded this episode again as an mp3 so it will be available in some of the podcasts channels (eg Spotify, Amazon etc.) that weren't available to me in m4a. Thanks for your patience!…
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BCC EP:93 From Oxford to Exmoor - panthers in the pastures
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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 sanctu…
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BCC EP:92 The Outcasts - Beauty in the hidden beasts
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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…
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BCC EP:91 Scotland’s big cats – from theory to reality
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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…
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BCC EP:90 Tails from the Stroud valleys
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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…
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BCC EP:89 The predator’s stare - when time stood still
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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 preda…
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BCC EP:88 Awakening the Snow Panther
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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 run…
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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 p…
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BCC EP:86 Cougar close encounters – from Canada to Devon
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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 explai…
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BCC EP:85 The policemen, the dog & the panthers - Warwickshire big cats recalled
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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 …
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BCC EP:84 The wall-walker – filming a foraging panther
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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 therma…
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BCC EP:83 Big cat nature ramble – Cotswold hide outs
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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 describe…
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BCC EP:82 A face-off at dusk – confronting a west country leopard
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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 l…
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BCC EP:81 Welsh big cat tour – north to south
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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 hisse…
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BCC EP:80 Kent’s large carnivores – a sleepy village life
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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 …
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BCC EP:79 Secret South Wales panthers
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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 s…
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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:…
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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 c…
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BCC EP:76 Panthera Celtica, Cougar Caledonia
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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 s…
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BCC EP:75 View from the train – the peripheral panther
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Mark our first guest watched a large black cat on his train journey in Cheshire, while Billy, our second guest, got a good view of a black panther from the front of his freight train in Yorkshire – he found other drivers had also seen such animals. Our guests describe both the close-up and the changing views they got from a moving train. By coincid…
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BCC EP:74 Wild Sussex – panthers, pumas and mutant cats?
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Charlie Bones is a long-term investigator covering East and West Sussex – he guides us through big cat reports from this area of South East England, starting with his own encounter in 2000. Charlie explains how he thinks the cats use the Sussex landscape through the seasons, based on the trend of reports he receives and his knowledge of the area’s …
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BCC EP:73 Dark secrets of the nature reserve
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Jonathan is ex-special forces, retired from the police, and an expedition leader who has encountered large predators across different continents. In the first half of the episode he describes his experiences overseas in the wild and explains how to stay confident amongst large carnivores. In the second half he re-lives his confrontation with a blac…
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BCC EP:72 Exmoor Beast – the untold stories
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Craig encountered a black panther on Exmoor just before the main 1980s reports had begun in the area. He saw it when lamping foxes and later disturbed it in a sheep field eating a predated ewe. 15 years later he and his wife saw a similar big cat in the same area. Craig briefs us on farmers’ reactions to a big cat on Exmoor in the 1980s, and he ref…
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Amanda watched a black panther rush into position, then pursue a deer in Somerset in December 2021. She describes filming the final moments of the chase, and explains how she and her partner checked for large cat tooth pits on the eaten-out deer carcass found a few days later. We also speak to Will who watched a big cat close up, stalking deer in G…
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BCC EP:70 Leopard rosettes & human goosebumps
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Leopard specialist Sanjay Gubbi describes his work tracking, monitoring and camera-trapping leopards in India, and helping people live alongside these stealthy predators. Sanjay gives us highlights from his new book, Leopard Diaries and re-lives the moment he was attacked by a fleeing leopard which got trapped at school buildings. Word of the week:…
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BCC EP:69 Dartmoor military big cat watch, & France panthers
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Our first guest Rich explains his thermal camera view of a big cat during his military training on Dartmoor. Our second guests Gareth and Ray discuss a black panther sighting during their family break in France. Ray has unrivalled experience of French and British big cats – he also describes his view of a black panther from his motorhome in County …
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