Our Big Cats

[Bump in the Night]

If they are native or not, we wont know for now.

But the ultimate question is, what other large feline do they resemble the most? By this i mean physiologically. Are they solitary? Or do they live in prides? Are they large like the lion & tiger? Or are they more nimble like the leopard & mountain lion? What ever they may be, one thing is for certain. That they are a super predator, and an efficient one at that. The food is plenty, and the land is vast. It has no other natural predators depending on its habitat (The far north for example) that we know of other then man. And the common modern day man has lost his prowess of being a hunter. So what form would our big cats take? Most legit reports say that the cat they encounter resemble that of the Mountain lion or Jaguar in physiology. Some being a tawny color to jet black, stripes too. All three are great camouflage.

Now what about the living conditions for the big cats? We all know that they need water. As all living things do. We all know too, that the big cat is a smart hunter, like its distant cousins Around the world, they ambush. And some big cats have been known to ambush prey whilst the prey animal is drinking water. Who is to say that our cats do not do the same? Opportunistic hunters also, with plenty of farms and live stock around all the different states, as well as small game like rabbits plus other introduced & native species. It is not on the verge of starvation and it does not have to push itself closer to human boundaries for food. Most cats, even domesticated, are arboreal animals, they have need for high places. Although not completely dependent. It can be mountains, rocky outcroppings or tree's that they use. Not only to retreat to, but also to scour the land for potential prey.

The geography of this Country is amazing. From the deserts of the outback to the tropical north. Our big cats have a lot of different terrain to adapt to. For instance, if the cat lived in the tropics up north, he would have to contend with another Apex predator, The Saltwater Crocodile. This means that the cat would have to take extra caution when it goes to quench its thirst, thus decreasing the possibility of a sighting. Not completely though. One of the most important aspects is that all cats are territorial. And there is plenty to go around.

Another thing worth mentioning is the governments play in this particular situation. If they ever admit to big cats in this country, Hunters will be out before morning trying to stalk and bag a trophy of a big cat. Not only will they have professional and amateur hunters scouring the landscape shooting the wrong targets and probably each other, the government will have to rewrite wild life books and also alert tourist of the dangers of the big cats, which will be bad for the tourist industry.




A quick dodged up report i know, forgive me, i wanted to share my views and thoughts on this subject. There will be more to come on big cats. Until next time.

[Mike Williams]

Great post Bump !

But the ultimate question is, what other large feline do they resemble the most?

The cats captured on video(Temby/Blount/Pound/Brown footage etc)appear to be like cheetahs in morphology...gracile body with small heads..but melanistic.
As a side note..we were once shown a still of an animal from close range that looked exactly like a cheetah in body but with normal moggie/fcatus colours..and the guy would not hand over the still because it was not his..

[Bump in the Night]

A good friend of mine said that he saw a big cat whilst hunting rabbit with a 22.

He followed the rabbit with the iron sights and he said to me that it was running , so he traced back a bit with the iron sight and saw a big cat chasing after the rabbit. He also said that it was striped and that the head was similar to a over grown lynx. From all the sightings and reports that i have found, the cats appearance seem to be mixed. And with the main stream media using the "Overgrown feral cat" excuse, it is a lot harder to discern.

[mtu mwitu]

G'day Bump

The 'Cat' which I spotted years ago was more of a Black Leopard, not heavy set like a jaguar.

It also had a Leopards stealthy slinking walk, head slightly lowered as though not wanting to attract attention. It didn't have an undersized head, I swore it was a Leopard, same to with my mate who loved big cats of all species. Shame it was side on, as not once did it turn around to look us in the eyes, it was on a mission, so I can't give details of it's facial features.

It was solitary, and spotted travelling along a cattle track midway along the hillside of a valley, which had tall cliff faces at one end.

It was on open farmland , but had plenty of cover along the creek which was smothered in blackberry thickets.

You may also want to take into account the season, which was an exceptionally cold winter, as there was snow in forested hills which fed the creek, the forest being miles upstream though.

My theory is that it ventured down the creek due to the snow, but returns to he forests in summer, but there are so many blackberries in the area along the creek, that it doesn't really require to live in bushland.

As for hunters, the current licensed hunters aren't the reckless yobs from years back, they are mainly respectful people who also share a fondness with wildlife (not just as prey).

Responsible hunters always identify their targets before taking a shot, not only for safety consideration, but also to prevent wounding their prey.

I was hunting rabbits at the time of my sighting, and the first thing I said to my friend was, 'don't shoot whatever you do'. He instantly spotted what I was looking at, and lowered his shotgun. We didn't want to shoot it, instead, just stood in awe. I said to my friend, "Do you see what I see", and he responded with a "Yep, sure do".


By the way, if we did shoot it , it would have been darn outright reckless stupidity, as my rifle and my mates shotgun were totally inadequate for the job, and a wounded leopard is a highly dangerous animal, not only just to us, but anyone else that it may come across.

Besides that, how can anyone shoot such a beautiful animal.

Upon returning to my cousin's farm house, she advised that a lady on a property a few blocks down had spotted a similar big cat sunning itself near a log, and had taken photos.
Being a nature lover she would never allow hunters on her block, and rung DNRE. DNRE apparently came out, she showed them the log for size in the photos, and handed the photos to DNRE for safe keeping. Sounds a bit weird to me, but she didn't want anyone to know about it in case hunters came looking for it.

Also, my aunty passed me a copy of the local rag which had an article on other recent reports in the same area.

By the way, I haven't seen the cat since, but there isn't any snow on the hills neither.

By the way, you mentioned someone having spotted a cat similar to a Lynx.

Well another keen hunting friend said he was driving on the main road heading for Bannockburn when a lynx like cat with long tufts of fur spiking up from the tips of it's ears shot out from a Blackberry bush and across the road.

He described it as being much larger than a cat, and had a really stocky build, I don't recall him mentioning spots, or stripes.

He saw the above lynx type cat maybe around 30 - 40 years ago,.

I do have other reports from the past from other friends which I noted down somewhere, but I shall leave em to another day.


Rob

[horserider]

Hi Bump

Here's some replies from personal experience to some of the questions in your post. Ive had a few experiences with it as ive lived in 3 hotspots for it, Kenthurst, Arcadia/Fiddleown/Glenorie. One was a sighting, the rest was hearing it, seeing evidence (prints/kills etc), & having my horse react to it at night (print in paddock by gate next morning) & another occasion all animals reacting to it & next day pony has a huge gush on rump/back end/thigh

For me it resembled a black leopard the most. It was tall with very distinctive shoulders, long legs shorter length in body.

It was a night sighting but i saw what i saw ... it was feline, slinky, possibly on the leaner than chunkier side.

In regards to hunting.. well i dont know but i do know what ive experienced & thats been a lazy opportunist hunter so far... foods been easily accessible ... one night it took down several lambs on the neighbouring property, cheap shot another time i found it had fed on a road kill , i took a photo of that (photo being used in a book in UK on big cats)
But as for the ones away from farming properties im not sure, probably ambush as you said

I believe they sleep & hide/watch in trees yes, one friend heard roars from a tree above the stables on her property, that was around 7pm in winter 2yrs ago. Ive also had them killing possums on my roof & launch up into the tree above.. at 2am in the morning nearly every night for a week. I was too scared to go out/too risky & i lived alone on that property sooo. But i knew it was the cat because what ever it was sounded around 70kg or there abouts. I never met a possum that heavy tee hee & the sound of it jumping in the big tree, my gosh it was not only heavy but very powerful.. could tell from the sounds

The government: hrmmm agree with what ur saying, & add to that the costs involved they would prefer not pay out to control the problem

[horserider]

actually sorry correction.. i remembered one thing wrong.. the road one wasnt a road kill i dont think as there was no broken bones, i believe that it may have taken down that wallaby itself.

[horserider]

G'day Bump

head slightly lowered as though not wanting to attract attention.

u may also want to take into account the season, which was an exceptionally cold winter, as there was snow in forested hills which fed the creek, the forest being miles upstream though.


Rob

heya

the one i saw was the same exactly, & also with its head lowered in same fashion

AND yes yes yes the cold climate i noticed too is the season they come into the farms for easier feeds as maybe everything hybernates so there is less feed in the bush.

Ive had several experiences with/around it & always winter .. some people say not winter.. i say every seasons possib;e but winters the higher number of sightings as they come in closer to farms for food

[Bump in the Night]

Interesting encounters, i have not yet seen one. And i cannot wait until i do. There is definitely predatory big cats in this country, the only thing that i do not understand is why are there so many different variants? From jet black panthers to tawny cougars and all the stripped and spotted variants in between.

Surely they cannot be the same species. Unless the Black cats that have been sighted are that of a melanistic strain in the same species? This is all very hard to piece together. In my opinion there is more than one species of Big Cat in this country. Its a damn shame that science does not want anything to do with the subject and refuses to acknowledge the evidence.

[horserider]

Interesting encounters, i have not yet seen one. And i cannot wait until i do. There is definitely predatory big cats in this country, the only thing that i do not understand is why are there so many different variants? From jet black panthers to tawny cougars and all the stripped and spotted variants in between.

Its got me baffled too... one of my past trainers saw the tawny one in maroota nsw, well known figure who wouldnt want her name jeperdised. Ive though the same, different species.... well Australian species discovery has a long journey yet... so much to be yet recognised... but what will it take???? someones blood before they act?
okay so they say they havnt taken anyone... whats to say they wont? whats to say they havnt... did sme researching on missing person profiles & found some disappeared IN THE BUSH in the midst of cold winter in early morning in the big cat sightings hot spots - this raises ???????????????????????'s!

Surely they cannot be the same species. Unless the Black cats that have been sighted are that of a melanistic strain in the same species? This is all very hard to piece together. In my opinion there is more than one species of Big Cat in this country. Its a damn shame that science does not want anything to do with the subject and refuses to acknowledge the evidence.

Ah well there loss our gain, we shall keep on discovering them & eventually prove them idiots? tee hee Well they will be eating there words one day soon wont they.. lets just hope its not after someones taken!

[David]

Surely they cannot be the same species. Unless the Black cats that have been sighted are that of a melanistic strain in the same species? This is all very hard to piece together. In my opinion there is more than one species of Big Cat in this country. Its a damn shame that science does not want anything to do with the subject and refuses to acknowledge the evidence.

My experience was with a tawny, I thought mountain lion, cat. In 2001 I was poking around the creek system above Micalong swamp in the Bondo State forest. I was returning home and climbed to a forestry road where my vehicle was parked. I missed the car by a fair distance and had to walk the track to it. The track/road was bordered by heavy growth which made it a bit 'tunnel like' and as I came around a bend I saw the back half (I never saw its head) of the cat leap across the road. The animals head had already passed into the growth on the left and the sighting was simply the fluid motion of the animal fleetingly pass before my eyes with an everlasting impression of the quite long tail flicking as it too passed from view and the animal could be heard literally 'belting' away. It was approximately the height of my hip so there was no way it was a feral domestic cat

My impression though fleeting was that this cat was in pursuit of something which I had missed and crossing the narrow track was just on its determined path. That's about it but I will note that the area was absolutely inundated with wild dogs with scat everywhere, particularly on the dirt tracks and I was harassed one night by a pack that encircled the camp. They left on mass as quickly as they appeared but both the approach and exit of the pack could be heard for some time. As for a food supply for a big cat, apart from marsupials, rabbits, foxes, pigs, goats and deer that I know are in the area I also ran into several Brumbys, one I saw with small foal. A nice varied diet for a big cat.

The end of the story is that was the fastest I have ever travelled a track back to the car and after that experience I don't walk that area any more. I actually thought I should report this cat to the authorities to investigate for public safety reasons... but who would have believed me?

[horserider]

AustralopithecineOz they say you shouldnt run, but i guess once fear kicks in who's in control of the speed than!!!!!! I saw mine from my vehicle & literally drove off in a hurry!! On foot i cant even imagine what i would have done i probably would have fainted ??!!

I wasnt aware that i was only 100m away frrom it while it killed several lambs on the neighbouring property late one winter night.. i would have been washing buckets whilst it was doing that, i was out there in the middle of the paddocks in the darkness with just the stable light to see what i was doing... i hadnt heard of the cat at that point or sighted it yet ... & i can promise you now i would have not been out there by myself on that cold wintery night washing frikken buckets if i knew what was only 100mtrs away from me killing lambs!!!!!!! So much for thinking fox, didnt think fox needed to feed on 4 lambs +more! may have been a few cats there that night, ooo cold shivers up my back!!

[David]

AustralopithecineOz they say you shouldnt run, but i guess once fear kicks in who's in control of the speed than!!!!!!

I can't say I ran Horserider... Too many years of smoking. But I can assure you it was a brisk pace.

[horserider]

I can't say I ran Horserider... Too many years of smoking. But I can assure you it was a brisk pace.

ha ha too funny!

From memory of what i read they said, dont turn your back, look large, keep your eye on it & slowly move away from it & get out of there. (Bit like if u see a snake except look large)

They should add to that, & toss some kitty cat food away from where ur standing hee hee
I shouldnt joke, the experiences i had were not funny at the time, waking up & heading to back of property every morning at 7am to feed horses was a frightening ordeal, i was just waiting for the day i walk into the stables & find it up on the hay heap cold shivers. Thank goodness it never happened. But at night hearing it on my roof was traumatising, im 99% certain it was it & it used to sound like it was going to break through the tin roof (which was rusted) & fall on top of me in my bed in the cottage i was staying in..... im not kidding, night after night i would here it 2am, something heavy jump on the roof & go ballistic up there killing possums than jump into the gum tree & sound like it was going to bring the tree down with it, you could hear the sound of it clawing its way further up into the tree!!

[horserider]

Oh & to add (sorry cant find the edit button) .. that happened in Kenthurst NSW.. look up Kenthurst panther sightings or ask someone in the know & theyll tell you how much of a hot spot that place is, its seen i reckon at least once a fortnight by anyone in the area & possibly once or twice a week in colder months.

I think the reason it was drawn to the property i was staying on was because it was like a dead ghost town there. There was only horses there & me, it backed up onto the valleys & no humans in sight. I was the only one there really & from time to time my trainers & a rider or two came down to ride for an hour or so than go off again & it would be quiet again.

Before that apparently it wasn't rented for a while because the fencing was so poor so this leads me to believe that possibly thats why it took interest to hang out there. The stables down the bottom were not in full sight to the cottage, about 100m down, they were an old chook shed & very old, extremely run down & untouched, PERFECT for shelter etc. And we had plenty huge baths of water for the horses up the top back of property it may have been drinking from.

Who knows maybe im wrong, but every time i went down to those stables of a morning i promise you i felt a presence, & by the night i WAS OUT OF THERE!! no mistaken it i felt presence, and an occasional scream/roar-ish groan/moan sound when i was down there coming from the valleys direction.

One time i had to walk down there at night because i heard something down there and was worried a horse got out, i can tell you know what it feels like to be the only one there & having to check out noise that could have been something else... i had no choice as we had stallions there & if it got out , well, that would be trouble. Turned out to be my trainer lol she was putting her gear away, phewwww

[horserider]

oh & another give away is that when i'd hear the 2am shuffle on my roof the horse would start snorting at something in his paddock & start galloping up & down... he escaped that paddock 7 times in 6 months hmmmm i wonder why?

He snorted like that at 2am & galloped up & down on another property too, in Fiddletown, Arcadia NSW... surely enough BINGO next morning big cat print in his paddock & big cat kill further down outside property. He's 21 & isnt scared of much, bit like the leader of the herd & the wise owl,, when he starts galloping at 2am & snorting something IS THERE

Interesting to note that the cat seemed to come round both those properties around 2am?

not sure why, feed time? but feed time was also between 6pm-8pm on a third property i stayed on in arcadia? maybe several feed times? Arcadia was winter, Fiddletown was Spring, Kenthurst was Oct - April. Diff seasons

[horserider]

sorry this would have been a 4th edit lol... i keep remembering more and adding.. the kenthurst 2am activities used to start with dogs all up the road going off their brains barking, than the noise on roof within 20-30mins which lasted around 5mins, through all this dogs still barking including a dog on property sorry forgot there was a dog fenced in a seperate garden area.. than the noise on roof stopped dogs would get louder in street (assuming its headed for the road again) than they would keep barking for around 10-15mins & than eventually fade out, always with the dogs more east being last to stop barking so possibly "it" headed that way

[selkiedarre]

Horserider, evidently we arent able to edit our posts on the forum.

[horserider]

yes i know lol now i really have to think about what im writing and write it once hahahaha & yet still it doesnt work! my frikken memory/concentration isnt the greatest so i remember things sometimes delayed lol, was never the best & became worse after my accident im certain (knocked my watermelon out in a fall lol oopsy)