Expert confirms big cat Rreports
Original Article
http://www.borderwatch.com.au/archives/540
Posted on July 24, 2008, 1:01pm and updated on September 19, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Big cats have been eluding farmers and their traps, shotguns and cameras for many years. But their sightings are being recorded by naturalists Simon Townsend and John Turner, assisted by Tantanoola-raised Joanna Seidel.
Mr Townsend said there had been numerous sightings throughout areas around Penola and south to Port MacDonnell, stretching into Victoria. A naturalist and big cat researcher from Ballarat, Mr Townsend said sightings around the South East and Western Victoria had been recorded for more than 100 years.
He said the reports generally consisted of large unidentified cat-like creatures the size of mountain lions or leopards. Commonly referred to locally as panthers, these animals have been most regularly reported from the ranges of Western Victoria and South Eastern South Australia, he said.
Most sightings have occurred at dawn, dusk or after dark when other wildlife is particularly active foraging and moving about. Sometimes they are seen eating road killed kangaroos or fresh sheep carcases in the paddocks.
Observers have included visitors to the region who were bushwalking or motoring through the bush, and farmland or bushworkers and farmers going about their daily business. Mr Townsend said reports included two distinct colour types, but they were invariably described as being like a big cat.
The two reported colours are tan or black could it be that there are two types of undescribed big cat in the bush? he said. Mr Townsend said the big cats grabbed hold of their animal victims and ate through the diaphragm first, taking out the heart, liver and lungs.
The next night they will come back and eat the legs and the rest of the animal, he said. He said they also dragged an animal from a cleared area to a patch of thicker grass or roughage, leaving behind a trail of blood.
Responses to Expert confirms big cat reports.
Sandy on August 20th, 2008 5:22 pm 1
I also have seen a black cat /panther like) up close. On my way to work I always go slow to avoid the kangaroos which look up at me unconcened. This day they were running frantically everywhere. Suddenly to my surprise a very large black cat jumped in front of me about three metres, leapt over the barbed wire fence, chasing the roos.
As he/she ran away I looked again and to my amazement could not believe my eyes. Black in colour, square jaw, round bear-like ears, long straight tail, 8ft easily, his/her back foot was at least 1ft. I arrived at school and told them of my adventure. Unconcerned they said go to the filing cabinet, there are folders in the area of other sightings.
On my way home I stopped at the site on the dirt road. There is a steep hill, road, fence, creek. He jumped off the hill, onto the road, over the fence and creek in one leap. No feral cat is that big. Years later on an outing I joked about this sighting in jest only to find out that another lady and her son looked over at their large gum tree and saw a black large cat sitting upright one metre high under it.
I also saw this cat again running across the road, so I feel very privileged to have seen it. I KNOW WHAT I SAW it was no cat!