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Author Topic: Big Cat Sightings  (Read 7808 times)

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Offline RedProw

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Big Cat Sightings
« on: January 11, 2012, 07:14:29 PM »
About 4 weeks ago one of our neighbours heard their horses making a real commotion out in their paddock. They went out to investigate and saw something large take off. The horses were spooked and one of them had a large gash on their hind quarter.

Now I know that there are plenty of feral cats and dogs around the place and they can grow quite large.

This sparked my interest so I started to do a bit of googling and before I know it I had whittled away a couple of hours reading stories about sightings and alleged encounters. A couple of articles also suggested that the number of 'puma' sightings around Gippsland and North East Vic were on the rise, so much so that the State Government is considering on doing something (whatever that may be) on a limited scale to try and either prove or disprove the existence of Puma's out in the bush.

Now on any given weekend I am sure that there would a large number of swaggers out there enjoying our great outdoors in East and North East Vic, and I was wondering has anyone ever had an encounter/sighting whilst out in the bush, or better still a pic or two to share ?
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Offline D4D

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2012, 07:19:31 PM »
I was 4wding with my old man out the back of Narby a few years ago. I was driving and looking at him in the passenger seat. Out the window I swear I saw a big black cat running through the bush. By the time I yelled out to him to turn around and look it was gone.
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Offline Tim - Stratford

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2012, 07:20:42 PM »
Never seen a puma/big cat in the Gippsland area although there are plenty of believers and stories around. I've seen a fair few feral cats and dogs (dogs mainly hanging from fences) and the occasional dingo - but no cats.....yet.

Tim.
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Offline speewa158

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2012, 07:47:25 PM »
The truth is out ther somewhere  >:D Get a really big saucer of milk ,,,,,,,, & then
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Offline Jon

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2012, 08:08:52 PM »
Quote from: speewa158 on January 11, 2012, 07:47:25 PM
The truth is out ther somewhere  >:D Get a really big saucer of milk ,,,,,,,, & then

Like page one of a chinese cook book, "here kitty kitty" ;D

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Offline ondaboat

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2012, 08:24:07 PM »
The things you see when you haven't got a gun
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Offline Jason B

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2012, 08:31:14 PM »
Plenty of alledged sightings in the Blue Mountains NSW also. Storey goes that they have been released or lost by private collectors/circus etc etc.

Hope I see one before he sees me.

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Jas
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pacs

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Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2012, 09:11:32 PM »
When I lived in Ballarat during the secondary school the ol girl next door had married a yank that she met at the temp base that was setup in Victoria park during world war two and she told me the story that they had cats as mascots for the battalion and when it came time to pack up and leave at the end of the war they were told to shoot them but apparently they released them up near Ararat at mt Cole never sighted anything myself but who knows... Maybe the drop bears have been cross breeding :p
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Offline Hairs

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2012, 07:41:18 AM »
Quote from: pacs on January 11, 2012, 09:11:32 PM
Maybe the drop bears have been cross breeding :p
LOL Could be.
There are also many documented stories of big cats in the Blue Mountains as well, as Jason mentioned.
Remember reading a story twenty odd years ago about a hunter in the Blue Mountains, with is dogs walking trails and his dogs picked up a scent and then bolted. Leaving him alone, it was a very quick, lonely walk back to his 4WD some k's away.
Stories of farmers finding livestock that are chewed, but not like wild dogs do when they kill.
It's a big country, wouldn't surprise me that Big Cats roam the bush.
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UIZ733

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2012, 08:11:24 AM »
I think one should always be vigilant of the dangers of meddling/interfering with feral pussies  :police:
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Offline bobnrob

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2012, 08:48:18 AM »
Quote from: Jason B on January 11, 2012, 08:31:14 PM
Plenty of alledged sightings in the Blue Mountains NSW also. Storey goes that they have been released or lost by private collectors/circus etc etc.

One of the stories/explanations I read in a rag years ago was, when Bullen's Animal World closed down, some were 'accidently' released, along with a few Chimps.
Of course, having never taking part in the closing up of an animal park, I would imagine meticulous records would need to be kept?!  ;)
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Offline Crimso

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2012, 02:48:23 PM »
Quote from: UIZ733 on January 12, 2012, 08:11:24 AM
I think one should always be vigilant of the dangers of meddling/interfering with feral pussies  :police:

OK, now I'm scared!!  ;D
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Offline Snow

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #12 on: January 12, 2012, 04:28:41 PM »
About 18 months back Mrs Snow and I were taking a leisurely drive down the Brass Walls firetrail in the Abercrombie River NP and we were lucky enough to see a dirty great big black cat bound across our path. It was about 50 meters from us and we had it in view for a good ten seconds as it lobbed through the bush, across the track and into the scrub on the other side. Now I have shot some big cats at that range and I know how big a big feral cat is. This bloke was huge, and I mean twice the size of any I have shot.

Like they say, the things you see when you don't have gun or a camera ready.
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Offline baldheadedgit

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #13 on: January 12, 2012, 04:35:35 PM »
Hmmmm.. well i think it was last year,,, Pattersons fire trail heading out of Burralow camp ground,, we were just doing the tracks one afternoon,, i spotted something big and black,, got no idea what it was, but it was on four legs and boy did it move quick,,. have always wondered what it was,, Did i see one of those panthers that have been reported.?? no idea,, but bet i never get to see it again.. :-[

BHG
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Offline bobnrob

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #14 on: January 12, 2012, 04:44:21 PM »
Heard reports BHG, lots of sightings of Yowies 'round your way. Any conformations?
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Offline Snow

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #15 on: January 12, 2012, 04:48:04 PM »
BHG, a mate of mine owned a property (Grace Lodge) out back of Yarramundi, on the eastern slopes of South Grose Head and came face to face with a mongrel black cat that had sharpen it claws on a post near his back door. The claw marks on the post were nearly 5 feet off the ground.

BTW, he grew up in India and knows all about how big cats can get.  ;D

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Offline baldheadedgit

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #16 on: January 12, 2012, 07:09:13 PM »
Quote from: bobnrob on January 12, 2012, 04:44:21 PM
Heard reports BHG, lots of sightings of Yowies 'round your way. Any conformations?
Na,, not true,,,, Goldie lives up north... ;D
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Offline baldheadedgit

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #17 on: January 12, 2012, 07:11:14 PM »
Quote from: Snow on January 12, 2012, 04:48:04 PM
BHG, a mate of mine owned a property (Grace Lodge) out back of Yarramundi, on the eastern slopes of South Grose Head and came face to face with a mongrel black cat that had sharpen it claws on a post near his back door. The claw marks on the post were nearly 5 feet off the ground.

BTW, he grew up in India and knows all about how big cats can get.  ;D
Mate,,, thats one hell of a big moggy......................

I do believe there is some truth in some of these sightings, not into the yowie type of thing. But the big cats i recon are out in the bush.

BHG
« Last Edit: January 12, 2012, 07:15:08 PM by baldheadedgit »
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Offline Kit_e_kat9

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #18 on: January 12, 2012, 07:31:51 PM »
Quote from: Jon on January 11, 2012, 08:08:52 PM
Like page one of a chinese cook book, "here kitty kitty" ;D

Someone Called?  LOL!  My BF see's a big cat every time he goes camping ... well my last name is "Lyons" ... ;D

Kit_e
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Offline Al Coholic

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #19 on: January 12, 2012, 07:48:15 PM »
Quote from: Jason B on January 11, 2012, 08:31:14 PM
Plenty of alledged sightings in the Blue Mountains NSW also. Storey goes that they have been released or lost by private collectors/circus etc
Plenty of mad blokes that go out in the bush looking for evidence of them too...........NO, im not one of them  ;D


I have done quite a bit of work on a property at Hartley, they have a large number of Kangaroos there.........the owners story goes they came out to find only the top half of a kangaroo laying in the tall grass  ??? The next day it was gone. That is something pretty big and fast to catch a Kangaroo and eat half of it each night..............Of course, as these things go....no photos. Thats when i lost interest in the story, lol.

Im still a bit dubious if there is a Blue Mountains panther (or several) but i wouldnt say its not possible. There is a heap of bush out there that man cant get too  :D
And for those hunters out there......There used to be a deer park at Wentworth Falls on Tableands Rd......they DID get released when it closed down.....now all in the Jamison Valley below running a muck no doubt. If only it werent a Nat Park  :angel:
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Offline RedProw

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #20 on: January 12, 2012, 08:04:11 PM »
Well there seems to be plenty of stories but never the Kodak moment to go along with it.  :-[
« Last Edit: January 12, 2012, 08:26:06 PM by RedProw »
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Offline baldheadedgit

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #21 on: January 12, 2012, 08:13:01 PM »
Maybe we should all get one of those little video cameras mounted to the front bar.!    ;D
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Offline maurerless

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #22 on: January 12, 2012, 08:25:52 PM »
An old workmate of mine used to have a property in the ranges near Bredbo. He used to come back with stories of how he was always trying to shoot an old feral cat on his property taking lambs.
He was hunting this thing for years until one day he turned up to work with the biggest grin - he'd shot it the night before.

He claimed that it was when he lifted it by the tail, it's head was still on the ground when he got it level to his shoulders. That's what I call a big cat.  :o

Apparently it wasn't black, but more like a really dark tortoiseshell. He said it was amazing how the thing had transformed from what he always thought of as a domestic cat into a panther-like hunting machine.

Mind you, I never saw a photo, so maybe it was just another yowie like furphy. (But I believe him, he wasn't prone to exaggeration for anything else)  8)

Tony
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Offline Campfire

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #23 on: January 12, 2012, 08:26:45 PM »
I saw a huge 6ft Koala once, was tempted to crash tackle it, only it was holding a donation bucket for the wilderness society.........

Maybe I should have done,

Would have made a great you tube clip
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Offline dno

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Re: Big Cat Sightings
« Reply #24 on: January 12, 2012, 08:47:54 PM »
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