Yowiehunters Forum

Hi All,

just wanted to get your collective thoughts on dead animals being left hanging from trees. I have encountered on 2 separate occasions (both completely different locations) dead animals just dangling from the trees.

I have captured both on video - though will need to pull these off my archives.

1st one. Dead possum hanging from the fork of a spindly branch very high up from the ground. Video of this was shot on my phone - so was not great. The animal was positioned very weirdly, with the fork tucking in under what would be the front 2 arms. Was positioned very high up that a person could not have put it there. I thought (at the time i saw it) that the animal may have tried to rest in this position - and then just died. Or maybe a big bird of prey?

2nd one. Was on a video shoot from a boat when we encountered what looked like a wallaby hanging over the water - attached to a tree / bush. This was filmed on a much better camera - though if I recall correctly, the light was starting to fade. I personally thought this was the work of humans. I will upload this over the weekend.

I personally never thought Yowie on either of them - I didn't know what to think in all reality. The only thing that has got my mind ticking is that where i first saw the 1st one (the possum) - i have recently started noticing weird tree arrangements. The tree arrangements are not new - but there are HEAPS of them (all dead trees), the whole area resembles a warzone.

Anyway, just wanted to get your thoughts...

Dean might have better info but I have never heard reports of yowies hanging carcasses. But hey.. they are found. What I have heard though that it's a sign of a big cat kill.maybe?

Not sure how visible these will be...
This is the one with the possum.
And what I origianlly thought was a wallaby. After looking at it again - not sure...

Not sure these are going to be visible enough.

Ill try and upload the video over the weekend.

Hmm...

Hmm wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2019 11:17 am a wallaby hanging over the water - attached to a tree / bush.

This is a tactic used by fishermen . The dead animal leaves a non stop drip feed of maggots which then attracts the fish .

Rusty you are the Plethora of knowledge.

These are just some of the more unexplainable tree structures found around the hanging possum. I’d say anywhere from 100 to 500 meters from where i saw the possum.

I only very recently noticed the trees - but had been walking past them fir years without notice.

Could be work of humans - but some of the breaks are way too high up or to really thick trees.

Dont know what to think really... very puzzled and extremely curious. I have literally hundreds of photos of weird tree arrangements like this... Am seeing them everywhere.

Those "tree breaks" look fairly natural to me.
Trees always have weak branches due to fungus attack or just plain weak growth.
In eucalypts, gas buildup is proposed to cause branch breakage.
A strong wind comes along and it breaks and falls. Or they just fall.
I have seen several branches fall (some quite large) spontaneously on still days.
I just happened to be looking in the right direction.
Some tree species more prone to branch-dropping than others.

yowiedan wrote: Sat Oct 19, 2019 7:57 am Rusty you are the Plethora of knowledge.

There was a warning on the radio down here years ago , apparently using this method is illegal .

yowiedan wrote: Sat Oct 19, 2019 7:57 am This is a tactic used by fishermen . The dead animal leaves a non stop drip feed of maggots which then attracts the fish .

Yeah, I thought something like that...

I read an Aussie 4x4 forum long time ago.

A guy mentioned that he saw a lamb carcass hang up 15 feet in the tree with four limbs off, side of a dirt road in Bunyip State Park, Vic.

Regarding the tree and stick formation photos, look for:

Breaks - higher up than can be reached by outstretched arms, usually way up off the ground
Snaps - can be done by a creature standing anywhere on the ground, sometimes an indicator of the stature of the specimen when reaching upwards
Twists - the best evidence of the three, showing clearly that the limb has been twisted and rotated by a creature's hand with an opposable thumb

As for stacked stick formations and leaners, well... the boy scouts haven't been everywhere, have they? - Dudlow