Our two different guests explain the challenges of sheep farming when a big cat makes a visit. Gordon ran a small sheep enterprise when he was based in south Wales. A silent predator would sometimes take one of his ewes (also called yowes) or a tup (young male). Gordon explains how he made adjustments to life on the farm as he realised a large cat was making occasional visits. Our second guest Jean runs a croft in North Scotland. At certain times she and especially her neighbour lose yowes to a large predator on their crofting land – they feel they are experiencing a rogue big cat, and a black panther gets reported in the area... 

Word(s) of the week:  Obligate carnivore

1 September 2019