Yowiehunters Forum

Hi, I've been thinking about the different emotions Yowies seem to express.I find it amazing that they are wary of humans considering they are massive,powerfully built and could easily kill people. Why do they hide from us and when seen why do they run to the bush?I doubt it is fear.They also seem to have a genuine curiosity of people with stories of them peering into windows and watching people from a distance.If we are just considered a food source to them they would simply kill every person they came across but that's not the case.A solitary person going for a bush walk would be easy pickings but they seem to use scare tactics rather than attack.Same with campers in tents they seem to do the scare thing then leave.

Another yowie contradiction.

I don't have an answer for you Lozza but we are the apex predator on this planet and they would know it. We are pack hunting, highly intellegent, violent by nature and territorial animals. We are far superior intellectually to anything else roaming the earth.

The fact we havent got the evidence we need to solve the yowie mystery is a mystery in itself.

So many questions, so few answers.

I guess using speculation as a guide, it would be safe to assume that each individual has its own and very unique personality. No different to humans.
I am sure the aggressiveness we see/hear of is no different to a human or ape/chimp and as we know that can be regarding territory, family safety or food. If I saw someone unknown approaching my family etc - I am going to be guarded and threatening if that person has a gun etc. These guys are really no different. I am assuming of course.

Regarding attacking every person they see....I think with the intelligence displayed that they know the consequences and probably don't need to do such drastic acts. To simply move on is easier and safer.

Maybe a solo male could be more prone to acts of aggression. Is he trying to impress a nearby female or could a group of human males be considered competition?

just thoughts.

Given the long period of time the hairy folk have lived in Australia (as described by our indigenous peoples in lore, Dreamtime tellings and even rock art depictions), and given that the indigenes have a healthy respect for them, or sometimes fear and hatred, to the extent some have told of times past when the hairy folk were hunted and killed,I would think being wary of humans makes a lot of sense.

The hairy folk would have seen first hand the damage we more 'civilised' humans have done to the environment through logging, deforestation and creation of housing estates. They are of an age we do not know, and if they have ways of communicating within their familial or social groups, how dangerous we are, and how we are changing/ruining their world and clearing native dwelling areas and destroying their food gathering zones, I would think that would be of prime importance. After all, we may be the cause of them needing to move on, into other territories, which might cause friction with the original folk in that new area. They may have seen and be very wary of machinery at work such as bulldozers and the like, and of course, men with weapons intent on finding and killing the folk. Any Yowie of advanced age may even be long lived enough to recall times when they were hunted by men, and really, that situation is still a real and present danger, I suspect.

Hating/stalking/intimidating humans is pretty much the only things they can do to show their displeasure, but their natural wariness and exceptional bushcraft honed over millennia means they must recognise the danger we represent to them, and so the avoidance of direct physical violence may be a last resort. Again, as already suggested, they are individuals with their own experiences, and that is most likely why there is such variation in contact experiences.

Frequent human attempts to engage them in their territory may be considered motion to war by some, or a mere inconvenience to others. Some may treat us as an inferior lot, worthy of scaring twitless with various tactics, it all comes down to the individual or group which comes in contact with humans, and our response to their actions. Some find them to be peaceable if respected and noy 'forced' into contact or confrontation. Others, seem to have had enough of us entirely, and willing to take us on on their terms if we have the temerity to bail them up in their own back yards, so to speak.

Of course they have emotions, all kinds. We all do, and these folk are not reptiles but warm blooded, cognitive thinkers with their own plethora of reasons to do what they do. Being wary and watchful of humans shows just one aspect of that. Just my two cents.

Shazz

Hi Tim Yes humans are the apex predator so maybe they have learnt to be wary of us and passed it on through the generations.There are stories of aborigines having battles with them.On the other side of the coin they have been known to present gifts to people whose property they visit.An elderly friend of mine has told me stories from his logging days.I couldn't help myself so I asked if he saw anything unusual out in the bush and response was this..he first saw one on the Carrai Plains while logging as a young man it was a quick glimpse of the rear end of a huge creature walking away from him when he saw it...his second sighting was logging out back of Wauchope and he said all the men on his crew were aware of them.One of the old bullock's was killed and partially eaten but it was found minus it's head.He had many a time he sensed he was being watched .One day he left his lunch sitting on a log,went to relieve himself and his lunch was gone when he came back naturally he thought it was someone from the crew but the next day a chewed up piece of fruit was left on the same log maybe a Yowies gift exchange.

Your right Shazzoir it comes down to their personal experiences with people and their dispositions.Some might be more bolder than others and therefore more likely to approach a farmhouse or person.With new estates popping up everywhere and their habitat being encroached upon the sightings and reports are going to escalate so we will glean more info about them.Back in the day people were reticent to report anomalies because of the fear of ridicule but nowadays it seems people are willing to share their encounters.

I believe that when a yowie is within a family group and that group is threatened they are a lot more confrontational. Protecting aproaches to a base area where females and young can do their yowie thing in peace.
The inquisitive lone yowie who looks through windows and seems fascinated by humans is I beieve either an adolescent looking for a mate/family group to hook up with or an outcast seeking some sort of social interaction.

Gavin wrote:I believe that when a yowie is within a family group and that group is threatened they are a lot more confrontational. Protecting aproaches to a base area where females and young can do their yowie thing in peace.
The inquisitive lone yowie who looks through windows and seems fascinated by humans is I beieve either an adolescent looking for a mate/family group to hook up with or an outcast seeking some sort of social interaction.

I am of the same opinion. It seems each troop uses sentinels in a triangle formation around the day/resting area. Bearing this in mind it would make sense said sentinels would try to scare away any humans blundering into the resting troop, hence the aggressive daytime encounters often reported.