BIG CATS 2: Leopards & Jaguars (2 Fast, 2 FURious)
6/4/202631 min
We're back with PURR-T TWO of our big cats journey, and this time, we’re heading even deeper into the cat-iverse.
We travel to India, where conservationist Shatrunjay Pratap Singh introduces us to leopards that live among shepherds and ancient temples. Then we head to Colombia, where biologist Laura Lisbeth Jaimes Rodriguez helps us track one of the most mysterious cats on Earth: the jaguar. We meet shapeshifting shamans, forest guardians, and cats so secretive that some scientists spend years studying them without ever seeing one. Finally, we meet the ghost cat of the mountains—the snow leopard—with wildlife biologist Dr. Nyeema Harris.
Along the way, we stumble onto the idea that the world might actually need its scariest creatures, that fear might be one of the most powerful forces keeping our planet in balance.
Special thanks to Luke Hunter at the Wildlife Conservation Society, Shatrunjay Pratap Singh, Laura Lisbeth Jaimes Rodriguez, and Dr. Nyeema Harris.
LEARN MORE:
- Watch this video of Shatrunjay Pratap Singh explaining the harmonious coexistence between humans and leopards in Bera, Rajasthan.
- Read Panthera's piece on why Indigenous culture is key to jaguar conservation, including how shamans in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta believe jaguars travel between physical and spiritual worlds.
- Learn about the Jaguar Shamans of Yuruparí, recognized by UNESCO as guardians of sacred sites along Colombia's Pirá Paraná River.
- Meet the "ghost cat of the mountains" with National Geographic Kids' snow leopard page.
- Learn more about Dr. Nyeema Harris's work studying carnivores at the Applied Wildlife Ecology Lab at Yale.
Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC studios. This episode was produced by Ana González, with sound design by Mira Burt-Wintonick. Sarah Sandbach is our Executive Producer. Our team also includes Alan Goffinski, Tanya Chawla, Natalia Ramirez, and Joe Plourde. Fact checking by Diane Kelly.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
[music] Hello, friends. Uh, the tree outside my window has just started to sprout its yellow flowers, uh, which can only mean one thing: that Mother's Day and Father's Day are coming up. And I just thought of a pretty funny, punny card. Okay, here it goes. It goes like this. There's a drawing of an owl, and it goes, "Hoo, hoo, is the best parent?" And then you open the card and it goes, "You. Thank you for owl that you do." [laughs] Uh, so that, I'm g- I'm offering that to you. If anyone wants to draw that, make that, that's great, but I was also wondering what ideas for punny animal cards do you have that show love for the adults in your life? Maybe there's something in a sloth, like, "I love you more slowly than a sloth." That isn't really good. Maybe you have a better idea. Anyway, draw yours and email us at- D-E-R-R-E-S-T. R-I-A-L-S.
Speaker 20:52
S-W-N-Y-C.
Speaker 10:53
.org. And we will read some of our favorites on a future episode and post some to our Instagram to share your ideas so that other people can use them, too. Anyway, happy spring. Hope you're well.
Speaker 21:04
Send us your cards. Oh, wait. You're listening [laughs] Okay. All right.
Speaker 11:12
Okay.
Speaker 21:13
All right.
Speaker 11:15
[clears throat] You are listening- You are listening- To Radiolab.
Speaker 31:18
For kids.
Speaker 21:20
Radiolab.
Speaker 11:20
From- WNYC.
Speaker 21:22
[laughs] [laughs] Yeah.
Speaker 11:27
[laughs] Three,