downunder update

They have been spotted in every Australian state, huge black catlike creatures that prowl the remote regions of our vast mountain ranges and hidden valleys.

Sightings have multiplied of late, perhaps because of the pressures on animal habitats in these last long years of the drought. Scattered farming communities are terrorised, cows mysteriously mauled and livestock slaughtered. Left behind, as calling cards, are large paw-prints.

We have no native big cats, although once a highly specialised group of killer marsupials called Thylacoleo, marsupial lions, wandered around the continent. The size range of Thylacoleo varied from a house moggy up to a lion, but in any case they all vanished around the end of the Pleistocene.

Americans blamed

In the Gippsland region of south-eastern Victoria the origin of the cats is blamed either on American army personnel or American goldminers.

One theory is that World War II airmen stationed in the area brought panthers with them as mascots, only to later release them into the Bush.

A lot of sightings in Eastern Australia occur in old gold mining areas and anecdotal evidence suggests pumas were brought to Australia by American goldminers in the 1850s. These animals may have subsequently escaped or were released.

Circus animals

Then there is the common zoo, or circus escapee, explanation. But history seems to deny that theory with records of just three escaped lions and one fugitive tiger. Two lions were killed and the third returned to its cage. The tiger was recaptured.

The mass slaughter of sheep is often given as evidence to support the big cat theory. They are often killed by a clean puncture or slit in the throat, the insides then eaten precisely and with no mess. Just the way a big cat kills and eats its prey.

The photo here is of a wallaby carcass, found in the Blue Mountains close to where many sightings of a large black cat had been reported.

More Skeletons

To the west of Melbourne the Geelong Advertiser ran a frightening story last year(September 15th, 2007)

THIS is the skeleton of a horse foal which was running and suckling its mum just eight hours earlier.

Discovery of the bones in a Geelong district paddock the morning after the kill has horrified the horse’s owner and dramatically sharpened speculation that big cats are alive and feeding on bush fringes.

Farmers are disturbed by the almost total consumption of the foal’s flesh, skin and organs. They believe deep gouge marks on the horse’s leg bones are the work of powerful feline teeth or claws.

Lithgow Panther

Sightings of big cats began over a century ago in the Blue Mountains

In 2003 a New South Wales Government inquiry found a colony of big cats is “more likely than not” roaming Sydney’s outskirts and beyond.

The problem, of course, is that while the mysterious creature continues to pop up, nobody has ever landed the sort of indisputable evidence that would prompt David Attenborough to book the first flight to Sydney.

More Australian Cryptids

Beware the Bunyip You may expect this post to describe the Bunyip to you, give you details of his habitat, genus, diet or even more personal revelations such as his mating habits. (Bunyips, like Leprechauns, tend to be male). You may even expect me to explain the Bunyip to you.

Yowie, Sasquatch of the South The Yowie is an unidentified hominid reputed to lurk in the Australian bush. He is said to be a large, gorilla-like creature over seven foot tall and covered with thick dark brown hair.

Video

There’s a good video on YouTube about Big Cats in Australia This is an excellent bit of video and shows footage of the mysterious cats. It’s been taped directly from a television report so please ignore the first 7 seconds.

Another video, Legendary and Rare Animals on YouTube, has amazing shots of rare animals (albino gorilla) legendary creatures (Nessie, Sasquatch) and incredibly clear stills of the last Thylacine in Australia.