BCC EP:129 Hidden in Herefordshire - the leaping leopard & the hissing puma

Our first guest Malcolm was an arch sceptic on big cats being
wild in Britain. Then one night driving home in 2011 he
encountered a big black panther on the lane outside his property
in Herefordshire. It rushed off, doing a long leap through a high
gap in the hedge. Malcolm then asked around and found that other
people in the area had also seen a panther around the same time.


Malcolm is coincidentally about 3 miles away from Craig, a
podcast guest from episodes 72 and 116. Craig joins us again for
the second half, updating us on events in the area where he found
the clawed carcass and set out trail cams. Craig has a recent
trail cam photo to describe, captured in mid July 2025 - see
copies on BCC website Refs & Links. Then the following week,
at 7pm in the woods, he experienced a full-on hiss directed at
him – a google search confirmed his view that it came from a big
cat, most likely a puma. 


Craig and Rick discuss the reports of both black and brown big
cats, described over many years in this corner of Herefordshire
and seemingly keeping to themselves…


Word of the week:   GISS (General Impression of Shape &
Size)


9 August 2025