Speakers' Lineup -- 1

This week and next, we bring you brief notes on the speakers who are currently set to share their expertise with us at this year's BCIB conference. For more details about the conference, at Tropiquaria on the weekend of the 7th of March, please check the BCIB website.

Jonathan McGowan - Dorset
Jonathan McGowan is Assistant Curator at the Bournemouth Natural Sciences Society, and head of its Mammals section. He is a native of Dorset, an expert on both its rare and common fauna, and has observed both puma and panther-like big cats in the wild in the county several times, the first occasion being while he was badger-watching in 1984.

"I have always been a keen naturalist and watched wildlife extensively. I have had many sightings of non-indigeneous cats since 1984. I believe they should be throughly investigated, for many reasons."

At the conference Jonathan will take us through seven years of intensive study into the sightings and evidence for large cats in Dorset. This will be presented via slides showing tree scratches, prints animal kills, maps and scat. An experienced lecturer, he will present a convincing case for the animals' existence.

Dr Darren Naish - Hampshire
Darren Naish is a palaeontologist interested in living mammals and other animals as much as in extinct ones. He has a long-standing interest inBritish big cats and has examined field evidence which he is convinced was produced by lynxes and other large felids. The evidence that large felids are living wild in Britain is scientifically compelling, but unfortunately few scientists seem even aware of it.

Darren hopes to bring this body of evidence to wider attention among zoologists.

He runs the Tetrapod Zoology blog.

Jonathan Downes - CFZ and Big Cats
Jonathan has searched for Lake Monsters at Loch Ness, pursued sea serpents and birdmen in Cornwall, chased big cats across west country moorland, and in 1998 went to Latin America in search of the grotesque vampiric Chupacabra.

In 1992 he founded the Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ), with the aim of coordinating research into mystery animals, bizarre and aberrant animal behaviour and his own particular love of zooform phenomena.