my big cat experiences

[mdswat]

i have had many big cat experiences over the years at various locations.
i have managed only once to kill a feral cat, not muh bigger than you normal cat.
i have tried other larger ones but they are also elusive.

the 2 experiences that stick out for mind happened at the same property but years apart.
camping in our usualy spot, kicking back before dusk, waiting for chow to be cooked i decided to take the bike for a ride, the rm125 is not your normal hunting bike being that little bit noisy, so i just went for a quik fang.
i riding along a trail on top of the ridge i thought i could see something out of the corner of my eye, i glanced over to see a very large cat running parral to me, this thing was huge, it was only about 2 metres from me, i couldnt believe the size of this thing, it was about the size of the leopard or cheetah had all the colours & marking of what you'd call the tassie tiger, impossible to be that but thats the best way of describing it.

what could i do?
not a lot so i kicked it back a few cogs & tried to get away for it, this thing just keep pace with me & as the road ahead veered to the left the thing just leap infront of the bike leapd the fence on the other side of the road & disappeared into the scrub in the next paddock.
i was blown away be the size & spead of this thing & it seemed he was playing with me.


the other i was out on a early morning hunt looking for pigs which were seen the previous day.
had the shotty only as these are great for pigs.
i was halfway the hill & i thought i spotted what looked to be a large boar, i was a few hundred metres away & after a better look, this appeared to be a huge all black cat (similair to all the lithgow panther pics) this a appeared to be stalking a group of sheep from a little ledge, i tried my best to creep up on the beast as best i could, i got close but still not close enough for a shot.
but i did get lose enough to see this thing was not just a feral puddycat.
i s#@t you not this thing was the size of a tiger, it pounced on some thing below (out of my view) but i assumed a sheep or lamb, i got down to where it was into the near waist high grass, i was so close i was crapping my dacks, even with the 12 gauge i felt very insecure, i could hear it hissing & scratching & the grass moving, but from the size of this thing, i thought if it got the jump on me, i was in big trouble, i backed away sat iddle in a position nearby for about an hour waiting to see it would show its face, it didnt.
but later that day i went back & found the remains of a sheep, plenty of wool, plenty of blood & not much else, wether something else got to the carcass after the cat or it was all form the cat remained a mystrey to me.
but for me it was my close encounter with black panther.

[Mike Williams]

That second sighting was a ripper mdswat !!
Do you think that area is still active..?

Mike

[mdswat]

i'd assume so, i havent been to that property for about 10 years now, but the property is still owned by the same owners & has no full time residents on it, you have to drive thru 2 other propertys to get both straight past that propertys homes, so its very hard for looters (unwelcome visiters/hunters) to get to.
it back onto the dam the other side.
i reckon i have seen a dozen different cats there over the years, so i reckon they would have breed more.

[hillbilly]

Wow, I have to agree, that second encounter sounds a beaut.
I dont want exact details, but what was the general area of the second sighting?

[mdswat]

in the mugdee area, out past the turn off to hill end.