Comments on: Black Mystery Cats Terrorize Oz

By: Rods

Rods — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 08:42:59 +0000

They are out there, and in this area. I was out testing a new setup in my hilux 4×4 about three years ago on the tracks around Anglesea, and pulled up short of a water crossing as a friend and I discussed if we wanted to risk getting stuck with only the one car and no recovery gear onboard. We were less than 10 metres away and just idiling along in low first when a very large black cat shot out of the bush on one side of the track, flicked around 180 and took off back into the bush. It seemed to me that it had been drinking and we had suprised it. The body would have been over 1 metre in length and the tail about the same again covered in thick, jet black fur and curved up at the end. I spend a lot of my spare time on nature photography and know the animals in this area very well, and both of us have a science background and were sure of what we saw. I had heard many stories over the years about there existance and figured they must have been out there somewhere but never really given it a second thought. What suprised me about this was how close to town it was. I always carry my nikon with a pro 300mm lens mounted and ready to shoot when I head out now but that was the only sighting to date.

By: snappy

snappy — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 01:00:52 +0000

There’s no doubt in my mind about big cats in Victoria Australia.
Having lived in the Yarra Valley / Dandenong Ranges area for 30 years
Iv’e heard numerous stories from many farmers and being lucky enough to see a big black cat standing on the road in Mt Dandenong and when our car approached it jumped at least 10metres over the road and up an embankment. (witnessed by 3 of us) as soon as we saw it we looked at each other and said “Well, there you go, There IS big cats” I’ve been fishing these areas all my life and no feral cat is that big (and Ive seen some big scary feral mogies)

By: Simon Townsend

Simon Townsend — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 07:04:24 +0000

I examined the foal in question late in the day it was found, at the invitation of the owner. There was major trauma to the throat and the area between the skull foals skull and the atlas bone. The eyes were forced out of their sockets similiarly to serious road accident victims. If crows had tried this they would have destroyed and eaten the eyeball and this did not happen. Shearing marks were evident on the edges of the remaining skin as though cut with curved edge scissors. Each shear was about 7 or 8 cms long corresponding to the carnassial teeth of the predator in question. All in all a very neat and tidy job. I have noted many roos and sheep cleaned up in a similar way over the years.

By: Bexta

Bexta — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:24:57 +0000

There’s often sightings up where I live in Gippsland. My mother swears black and blue that one ran in front of her car when she was driving home a couple of weeks ago, and she’s not one to lie at all.

By: Alligator

Alligator — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:21:40 +0000

This one is clearly a guy in suit! lol

Australia has very strict laws on exporting its wildlife. I wonder how strict they are on imports? This sounds like imports that escaped or were released. The feral cat possibility is intriguing too. I saw one old feral tom that weighed almost 20 pounds and his head was massive. As far a thylacene – what is known of their manner of killing and consuming prey? It’s usually pretty easy to distinguish between a cat and dog (or dog like) kill.

By: jules

jules — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 05:15:20 +0000

Very possible. I saw a “home bred” Burmese that looked like a panther. It weighed about 50 lbs.

By: bmillo

bmillo — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 05:22:38 +0000

I believe the big cats are there in Australia. There have been too many sightings over too many years to doubt that. Would Australians prefer to capture one of these animals rather than shoot it?

By: Bob K.

Bob K. — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 03:14:17 +0000

Folcrom, thank you for your astute observations.

By: folcrom

folcrom — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:34:06 +0000

Thylacoleo Carnifex has teeth designed to puncture skulls. They were ambush preditors, that ambushed prey from above.

If they still exist, they’d be a possibility.

However, don’t forget the old household moggie. Given 4, 5 or 6 generations in the wild, they aren’t your ordinary moggie. A feral cat can grow quite large. They adapt very readily.

In my younger days I shot one that was easily three times normal size. It was a right nasty piece of work. It thought it was safe sitting in a tree. So melanistic ferals are also possibilities.

Feral cats kill more native species in Australia than can be counted, they’ve caused many species to become almost extinct, so hunters shoot ferals on sight.

By: sschaper

sschaper — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:20:54 +0000

Are these kills consistent with big cat kills? If not, could it be thylacoleo?