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 reflects on the current big cat situation, from what he’s seen and heard about from his Herefordshire base today.  Word of the week:   Shippon  3 April 2022