Hair from cat sighting.
Cat hid?/moved behind the log, witness returned with us..witness found/removed wood with hair in it when he was about 40 metres from us.
Cat guesstimated at 80kg-1 metre tall-5 ft body length,tail not seen, unusually small head on body. Hair had the bulbs at the end..which is fairly rare..
Monster felis..?
Sweet - any plans to test, as it's got the roots and follicles? Of course, bearing in mind your previous experiences... isn't Toppy a uni guy? Maybe he'd know someone...
"What is reported is different to what is remembered which is different to what was seen which is different to what was present."
If you're testing DNA to determine species, and it comes up as a leopard or puma, then the skeptical reply is that that hair is easily obtained by visiting a zoo.
If it tests as feral domestic, then you still have no way of establishing the size of the cat.
Well that's my real question there - regardless of the hair, how are you going to establish the size of the cat besides witness testimony? Or is the point just to know where to conduct further surveying?
Near Mudgee...had a hunter with a friend watch it for about 12 minutes...guesstimated about 80 kg,black..with a small head..could not see the tail at any stage.
He wasnt hunting...for anything large..
He slept the night down by the river..during the night he listened to the cattle going nuts in a pen.
He packed up and drove about 1/2 km and looked on the right hand side of the road where about 20 cattle with calves were jammed up against the fence..they were all looking down at something..he got out...walked over..and there is a cat moving around next to a log..
He only had a .22...in his estimation..after hunting for about 35 years..he did not like his chances of killing such a large animal.
We spoke to the farm manager..the previous handyman had seen a large cat in the same general area years before..its over 7000 acres...(needle..haystack).
I cannot prove he is telling the truth..I cannot prove he didnt place the hair on the log..I cannot prove the exact spot he saw the cat..where the hair was found..is the exact hair from the exact animal..hell..for all I know..It might be calf hair which..sadly...looks quite similar to cat....all the standard fun and games in this nutty field..
We asked for a fcattus ..yes/no.. mt dna test..
Mudgee ? i got a bush retreat out there! at Kanes Flat how far from there? the property backs onto the Wollomi Nat Park just rained up there after god knows how long. Love the Coolyal pour a good drop!
Mudgee ? i got a bush retreat out there! at Kanes Flat how far from there?
When i use the term Mudgee...just draw a circle about 100km round it..there have been about 5-10 sightings that I am aware of in the last few years from that area.
The guy went further than fcattus..yes/no.
He went for species ID.
I will not mention the result since its top secret ...the only clue I can give out is
it goes "moo".
Oh well..back to the drawing board..weep..
If you PM me we can swap postal addresses(....maybe a drink and a movie then who knows what )...UMmmmm NO NO i mean stick several of the hairs with root follicle into a sealable plastic baggie and envelope and i can run it over to the zoology Dept get them to check morphology of the specimen
no probs
( movie, drink etc...THAT WAS A JOKE for the record )
This planet is a one big farm, we are not the farmers but the stock
UMmmmm NO NO i mean stick several of the hairs with root follicle into a sealable plastic baggie and envelope and i can run it over to the zoology Dept get them to check morphology of the specimen no probs
Thanks for the kind offer top..(not the dinner/date bit)
I never send any form of material for dna testing in sealable plastic bags on the off chance of moisture-bacteria growing on the sample.
The standard of the lab is pretty high and I trust their result..
dam black calves....
Mike Williams wrote:
He only had a .22...in his estimation..after hunting for about 35 years..he did not like his chances of killing such a large animal.
pretty sure a reasonable shot with a .22 would kill it. if not straight away it wud hav died shortly after
pretty sure a reasonable shot with a .22 would kill it. if not straight away it wud hav died shortly after
Possibly..but I would rather go with the opinion of the guy who was initially there...with a proven background in hunting...and..we would not like to have a wounded animal running round with a .22 in it anyway..
Sure, the 22 would possibly kill a big cat, at close range. BUT, to assume that ..."it would have died shortly after" is sadistic and cruel.
A good hunter will strive to achieve a quick, clean kill. There is no cruelty intended. To use a 22 on a large animal is just wrong. Of course 'stories' tell of amazing skill and success with small calibres, but they are stories.
To use the right tool for the job, is how you should look at the scenario. You dont cut down a tree with a pen knife. Although it will eventually come down, it is just the wrong tool.
I use my 22 on rabbits , foxes and tin cans. Anything bigger, gets the appropriate calibre.
To drop a large predator like that with a 22 you would need dead acuracy..just in front or behind the front leg at about mid point, but as we all know even a large feral cat will keep running after a chest shot and even some head shots, hell ive seen one run for 2 kms before dropping, thats just plain cruel...largish predator equels large caliber, quick and clean, job done
This planet is a one big farm, we are not the farmers but the stock
Mudgee ? i got a bush retreat out there! at Kanes Flat how far from there? 
the property backs onto the Wollomi Nat Park just rained up there after god knows how long. 
Love the Coolyal pour a good drop! 
...the only clue I can give out is 
