Big Cats on the Mornington Peninsula
Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 7:37 pm
I often share my beliefs with friends, clients and coworkers. I had heard of big cat sightings on the Peninsula, particularly along the backbeach at Rye. I shared this with one coworker who is young and still unexposed to the possibility of big cats. He probably passed it off as another one of my strange ramblings, to be filed away alongside my stories of conspiracies and aliens that he has also heard from me.
A few months later Ben approached me with a story of his own. A friend of his parents was jogging along a path on the backbeach at Rye early in the morning. A big, black panther like cat crossed the path ahead of him and he very quickly turned and jogged back the way he had come. His response is interesting because you wouldn't be afraid of a large feral. You would be afraid of something which has a size and ferocity that could take you down. This is one of the rare occasions when my beliefs are vindicated by the experiences of others, and it put a little glow of pride in my chest. It also indicates just how common the sightings are, which indicates a thriving population and/or a fearlessness of humans by a smaller number.
Of particular interest is the spread of big cats to the peninsula. The idea that they could have been let out here from a circus or private collection or some such is virtually impossible. The more plausible explanation is a spread from a population in Gippsland and/or the Great Dividing Range through the Dandenongs. This would have involved movement through farmland or reedy swampland. This also poses the question of how close to populated areas these beasties can live and thrive. i am reminded, for example, of foxes and their capacity to live within even the most populated areas of cities. Could we see, in the future, big cats roaming Melbourne and Sydney streets after dark? Food for thought.
A few months later Ben approached me with a story of his own. A friend of his parents was jogging along a path on the backbeach at Rye early in the morning. A big, black panther like cat crossed the path ahead of him and he very quickly turned and jogged back the way he had come. His response is interesting because you wouldn't be afraid of a large feral. You would be afraid of something which has a size and ferocity that could take you down. This is one of the rare occasions when my beliefs are vindicated by the experiences of others, and it put a little glow of pride in my chest. It also indicates just how common the sightings are, which indicates a thriving population and/or a fearlessness of humans by a smaller number.
Of particular interest is the spread of big cats to the peninsula. The idea that they could have been let out here from a circus or private collection or some such is virtually impossible. The more plausible explanation is a spread from a population in Gippsland and/or the Great Dividing Range through the Dandenongs. This would have involved movement through farmland or reedy swampland. This also poses the question of how close to populated areas these beasties can live and thrive. i am reminded, for example, of foxes and their capacity to live within even the most populated areas of cities. Could we see, in the future, big cats roaming Melbourne and Sydney streets after dark? Food for thought.