Pete Wise : Hello everyone over there I hope you enjoyed the show, I know we did.
Chat Ed : Evening fellas!
Simon Goldfinch : Good evening all! Let's see what you want to know.
terminator : you guys are going about this trapping thing all wrong, all you have to do is use a big ball of string - cats cant resist that
Chat Ed : OK - first question coming up...
Pete E : The black phase of colouration in leopards/mountain lion is pretty rare in the wild but a high proportion of sightings in the UK are black. Do you any explanation for this??
Pete Wise : Melanism, as it's referred to, is common among sightings of leopards especially. There is no documentation of a black cougar.
dough_man : Over how big an area did you look for evidence of cats?
Simon Goldfinch : Well there was a great deal of research done across the whole country and we narrowed it down to a few square miles where the most sightings had been recently. We didn't have time to investigate any larger area purely due to time constraints and there was no evidence to take us elsewhere.
Eileen : Is there much danger of big cats in this country attacking humans? I have heard they don't like putting themselves in danger unnecessarily
Pete Wise : Even though people keep saying they are seeing these cats there is no hardcore documentation of anyone being attacked. So not to worry!
Simon Goldfinch : Cats are very secretive and they don't like to be near people, but there are mountain lion/cougar attacks on people in Canada. There is a higher density of population in the UK but we have no evidence to support their existence.
Adam_Grant : Do you think that big cats could actually survive and breed in the British wild?
Simon Goldfinch : I think there is no doubt. If they were there, there is so much food available for them it is a strong possibility. We have so much prey available for them they'd have no trouble at all.
Pete Wise : In order to have a breeding population you have to have a significant number of cats and there just aren't enough cats. Given the fact that their life expectancy is fairly short in the wild (10-14 years approx) and also that males will kill cubs and females if they are hungry.
ayesha : surely these big cats must die and reproduce...why hasnt a body of one ever been found?
Pete Wise : Bingo! Why haven't they been found! With the population of Great Britain being at 59 million and the number of vehicles you have, why hasn't one been knocked down and found?
steve : Having found no evidence of big cats, what do you believe was being seen by people particularly the gemekeepers out foxing?
Pete Wise : I really don't know. I have no idea what they are seeing. All I know is what I physically saw, and that was nothing but a dog track on the ground. Every kill that we looked at all the way along the line was indicative of dogs.
brian : I saw a big black cat in Norfolk. I cycled past it within a couple of feet. It followed me very close to the ground making no noise. I stoppped and shouted at it and it just walked away into the wood. Are the UK government taking this seriously yet ?
Simon Goldfinch : I really don't know. I suspect that they are going to require a cat body before they take any serious action. In my experience if a cat is following you you rarely ever see them, you just feel them. But I've known people here that have lived and worked in the bush for 50 or 60 years and have never seen one in the flesh. They are very hard to spot. It's sort of a treat to see one if you do get the chance. It's difficult to distinguish the photographs that we saw that look very much like dogs.
Pete Wise : There is one other thing that we have in Canada that you have over there which is foxes, but we have 3 colours: red, black and silver. So we end with foxes that are quite some different colours. I've looked at pictures of animals from that part of the Great Britain and what they thought were cats, I actually thought were foxes.
danny Bamping : I have set up the British BIg Cat Society with Danny Nineham - have you seen the evidence on our site! -
www.britishbigcats.com - what do you think of the attack on the horse and the tree scratching pictures!!
Pete Wise : I'm sorry I haven't seen it, but I will now that I know where it is!
greenman : What was that stuff in the pot that you kept smearing on the trees?
Pete Wise laughs
Simon Goldfinch : That was our secret lure. We make up different types of lures to bring animals in according to what variety they are. There were 2 types: a really smelly one for long distances and a less smelly one!
Pete Wise : They work very well over here in Canada.
Andrew Peach : Will you be continuing your research into the mystery or have you decided to call it a day?
Simon Goldfinch : We would love to continue our research and resolve the mystery, but it's all a matter of time and money and we don't have either!
Pete Wise : I'd love to go back and delve into the mystery a bit more.
Niall : What advice would you give to anyone who comes across one of these creatures in the wild?
Pete Wise : We've only had two fatalities in Canada, but - 1. Do NOT turn and run but face it. Do not fall on the ground and play dead; fight as hard as you can - make yourself bigger, yell, do whatever you have to do. Walk with a stick and be prepared to defend yourself. Cats are not like bears. Bears often maul you and leave you whereas cats will attempt to kill you.
Mal : Just wanted to say to Simon & Pete that Fife constabulary have alot of information regarding big cats. Do you chaps think there is more likely to be big cats living in Scoltand than in England? Also, is a cougar like a panther and waht is there teritory size like? Thanks, Malcolm.
Simon Goldfinch : Most animals rely on the food supply and there is no shortage of that anywhere in Britain. Scotland is more sparsely populated and they have more evidence of cats, should they exist. It's a tough one to say without getting on the ground and seeing what's going on. Cats would prefer to be away from humans as far as possible, so yes more likely to see one in Scotland than in Central London. However a couple of weeks ago I believe a Lynx was spotted in London. But still, there has been no physical evidence that there as been a cat.
Chat Ed : OK y'all - our half hour is nearly up now, so last three questions now, thanks....
Alan Carnegie : Guys, on a slightly different note: The Beaver is being reintroduced to the UK next year. Do you think that we SHOULD have big cats...ie reintroduce the Lynx?
Pete Wise : They are in for a real shock when the re-introduce beaver. They are an absolute pest; they cause a huge problem. They have a parasite that causes Beaver Fever which can compromise your water sources. They will have to be very careful. Introducing a cat into your country is doing it a great disservice. A cat will have a hard time finding an area to adapt into and it will create a problem.
Simon Goldfinch : I believe that it's been a long time since beavers were in the UK naturally. Doing so is going to be an absolute disaster. It will build quickly unless that is all planned for and unless they are prepared to cull many of them because of the damage to the infrastructure. It's going to be a mess.
DTaylor : Do you make a good living for yourselves through your line of work?
Frank : How do you make a living out of trapping?
Pete Wise : My business is wildlife control: professional, ethical and humane trapping of nuisance wildlife. I deal with all species. I spent 6 years as a bear trapper and I have also done lots of snakes, bats, porcupines, etc. It's 7 days a week, 24 hours a day but I make a good living for myself.
Simon Goldfinch : With regard to making a living from trapping, it hasn't changed in thousands of years. You trap for food and clothing and we sell the furs through various houses in Canada and the US. In the part of Canada that we live in, it's hard to make a full time living from trapping, but further north people live from trapping alone. My interest (and being an ex patriate) was to try and find a way of life that fitted in with nature than the way I was existing before. I have achieved that and I understand the natural order of things a lot more than before I came to Canada and before I got into trapping. It's a matter of understanding and knowledge.
Chat Ed : ..and last question now folks:
Martin Brown : I would really like to get a camouflage jacket like Simon's (?). Where did you get it?
Simon Goldfinch chuckles
Simon Goldfinch : I got that in the US. It's not really a jacket but is more of a coverall that goes over other clothing. There are many varieties over here. You could find anything you are looking for at Cabblleo - it should be on the web too. Also at Russell Sports - www.russellsports.com - they have all sorts of stuff. In the UK I'm not sure, talk to the Army perhaps.
Chat Ed : That's it! Thanks for coming, Simon and Pete, that was fantastic. And thanks for all your questions, folks! Hope you all enjoyed it!
greenman : Great Stuff! Thanks!!
Frank Rooney : simon and pete.... thanks for a great thought provoking show... you came across with a lot of credability!
Fraser : if you find my wife.......er.........it's really bigfoot.........please sell her to the nearest zoo and send me half the money! ;o0
Steve Howlett : Nice chat shame it was only 30 mins
Adam_Grant : You've just given me a whole new interest!
cjohn : Goodbye, thanks for chatting.
Pete E : Thanks!
John_G : Thanks!!
Alan Carnegie : thanks guys
Derek and Clive : Clive says ThankYou.
Pete Wise laughs at Fraser
Martin OD : thanks guys, lots of food for thought.
Martin Brown : Thanks for the info on the jacket!
Pete Wise : Thanks everyone, we really appreciate the imput.
Simon Goldfinch : we remain intrigued by it - thanks again.
Pete Wise : Thanks to all the folks in the Pontin area too and to LWT for putting up with a couple fo country trappers. We can't thank you enough.
Pete Wise leaves the room
Simon Goldfinch leaves the room
