Having a Guess...Yowie Population Numbers?

[ChrisV]

I know this topic is all here say, but I was interested in what people think Yowie populations might be in areas such as the Blue Mountains, Glasshouse Mountains, Bega/Eden areas etc.

Using witness reports and general research as a starting point, it seems that Yowies seem to live in small family groups. Ie: 3 maybe 4 in a unit.
Looking again at reports for eg around the Blue Mountains, there are reports from the Grose Valley region and the lower mountain parts to Katoomba thru to the Lithgow & Oberon areas on the other side of the Great Dividing Range.
This is based on reports that follow the Great Western Hwy so we can assume that :
1) Its the same family unit traveling along the entire east-west range of the mountains ( ie Lapstone to Lithgow )
OR
2) There are several family units that inhabit their own region and each area has its locals so to speak. This would mean each sighting in different areas may well be a separate family unit?

I guess by looking at this from a 'assumption' position - would it be fair to say that the Great Dividing Range alone could host 100 + individuals ( as a guess ) ? I just plucked that figure out of the air but it says alot that for such a rare creature - there maybe in fact be more than we imagined.

Any thoughts?

[wellymon]

?

[Yowie bait]

Geez i dont know where to start with this one. Maybe ask "the yowie people"?

Id guess they travel in family groups with the odd rogue male or maybe juveniles kicked out at a certain age. Maybe theres groups of juvenile males as well?

Since they apparently travel a lot then maybe some sightings are the same groups of yowies in different areas and times of the year.

I think it would be wrong to judge them by ape behaviour but thats just my opinion of course as i dont have a clue.

[ChrisV]

I reckon there would be more than we think.....

[Brindabella Ranger]

Hotspots would obviously contain greater yowie populations and usually these locations are hundreds of square kilometers - impossible to guess.

A wild stab at the overall population, Australian wide, would probably be a few thousand. I base this on a "minimum viable population" required for any species such as an animal the size of a yowie to survive - which would take into account the usual threats of extinction such as inbreeding, climate change and human impacts. Under the WWF that number would mean they're "endangered", but I personally don't think they are.

[Hominidhunter]

I'm of the opinion that they have been on the brink of extinction long before white man got to Australia, slowly being hemed in buy new humans and then us European's, I'd imagine the population to be in its lower hundreds, if not lower 1 or 2 hundreds or less, as they retreat to the Denser wilderness, so does their population, time is running out!

[Yowie bait]

I would guess there would be thousands too. There would be groups in the forests all along the newell highway and large areas in nth Qld where no one hardly goes.

Just the vast number of sightings says a lot. If there is 100 seperate sightings then surely there would be at least a thousand yowies as they're so elusive and rare to see and as Brindabella Ranger noted,there would need to be a few thousand to sustain a breeding population.

Thats not counting the junjudee either which are smaller and harder to see and probably more common from what i can figure out.

[Yowie bait]

I wonder if yowie population is increasing or decreasing? Since they are so elusive then i guess the only way to find this out is from researchers or the various organisations getting the reports.

Even then theres still a lot of encounters that don't get reported and doubt theres enough researchers covering the whole country that are actually seeing the things to make a rough guess.

Theres lots of national park out there and not really any serious predators for them to worry about except for man and maybe crocs. No real competition for food either.

I know its been discussed before but does anyone have a clue if there or more or less yowies out there? Are there numbers dwindling or are they thriving? I guess we shall never know??

Hopefully the pollution from human infrastructure and things like fracking doesnt poison the poor buggers otherwise we may know how many are/were out there from the body count!

[macquariedave]

I wonder if yowie population is increasing or decreasing? Since they are so elusive then i guess the only way to find this out is from researchers or the various organisations getting the reports.

Even then theres still a lot of encounters that don't get reported and doubt theres enough researchers covering the whole country that are actually seeing the things to make a rough guess.

Theres lots of national park out there and not really any serious predators for them to worry about except for man and maybe crocs. No real competition for food either.

I know its been discussed before but does anyone have a clue if there or more or less yowies out there? Are there numbers dwindling or are they thriving? I guess we shall never know??

Hopefully the pollution from human infrastructure and things like fracking doesnt poison the poor buggers otherwise we may know how many are/were out there from the body count!

We may learn more after the 2016 Census; however, the forms may prove difficult to deliver to non-listed addresses.

[Yowie bait]

Hmm, i wonder how many census takers have dissapeared in the australian bush?

[Pertys80]

Im gonna take a stab, and say they're in their thousands.
The great dividing range takes up a fair chunk of land, with no shortage of food and cover..
It would also be a fair assumption to guess their population may have increased considerably over the past few decades, especially along the fringes close to human habitation.
Exotic crops, livestock and an ever increasing resistance to human born viruses and disease.
Just my 2 cents..

[gregvalentine]

Hmm, i wonder how many census takers have dissapeared in the australian bush?

The problem really is getting the whole family to be home together on the designated census night . . .

[Dion]

The problem really is getting the whole family to be home together on the designated census night . . .

Bigfoot Census.jpg

[Wolf]

IMHO numbers are increasing.

I suspect there is some truth to the theory most were wiped out at the same time as the Origine tribes by the same pox. Ever since they have been slowly but steadily increasing again.

There numbers would likely be in the tens of thousands, not thousands... it is a VERY big country

[ChrisV]

I think its safe to say that even though we are talking estimates but there must be thousands as they seem to appear in nearly every national park in Australian - or at least on the eastern seaboard.
I have no idea obviously, but I tend to think to reduce inbreeding that the younger ones would breed with other family units as they start to travel around. This might make sense why there are solo beings who are seen without a family unit in tow.


There could a set family structure that they adhere to they we may not be aware of

[Boab Bob]

10 - 20000 seems too low even with long range mating/interaction (assisted by tree knocking and calls). I'd say 45,000 + for the whole of Australia but i'd mibbe go higher to 60k + if it weren't for the lack of general official awareness.. or to put it another way: historically not much imbedded in European Australian awareness. But is 20 decades really enough for that anyway?

[Slats]

Hey guys
I've done a little bit of research into minimum mammal populations to sustain a reasonably genetically diverse population. From memory it was around 300 adult individuals in geographical location. So if you look at the overall number of recorded sightings. I'm not 100% sure of the exact number but let's say it's around 250 reported sightings of different adult in the different regions known for yowies. That would make a rough population estimate across Australia of 75000 plus juveniles so I would think around 100000 individuals could be a fair estimate maybe even more. It is estimated that there is a feral pig population of 23-24 million and how often do you see one of those when you are out in the bush or driving around our wide brown land

Cheers Slats

[AL Pitman]

So true , especially in southern regions of Australia just to spot a feral pig in the bush is a rare treat!
Excellent comparison !!!

[Slats]

Hey Al
Thanks mate I use the comparision quite often when talking to people over here in Perth.

Cheers