Thread: Big Cats, myth or real ?

"...Is one of its front teeth missing a crown? ..."

- Cheap & Dodgy foreign dental work...

Originally Posted by p38arover

I hope you picked it up and delivered it to a museum.

nope, but it is exactly here -26.31322, 143.16599 if anyone wants to do same.

here is a link to the hires photo straight from the camera, that tooth does look rotten.

http://goingbush.com/images/P4210021.JPG exif gps data is slightly off, but above gps location is within a meter or so

Epic_Dragon, thanks, won't mention that to Val but will keep the door on the van closed at night , still plenty of camping yet to do, blog = www.goingbush.com

The cat has a full compliment of teeth (ie none missing). What appears to be a 'rotten' tooth looks to me like flesh or similar (dry) hanging behind the front tooth line. It is not a young animal as it has full tooth eruption, as well as worn and broken teeth.

Cheers
KarlB

Haven't there been confirmed sightings over the years, of large puma like cats in the Grampians area? From what my old man told me it was common for the yank soldiers to have these type of felines as mascots with their marine cores etc. and there was quiet a large contingent of them stationed at Ballarat during WW2.


Cheers, Mick.

Originally Posted by mick88

Haven't there been confirmed sightings over the years, of large puma like cats in the Grampians area?

Cheers, Mick.

Those "sightings" don't seem to stand up to thorough scrutiny.

Assessment of Evidence of 'Big Cats' - Department of Primary Industries

Conclusions

1. The available evidence is inadequate to establish that a wild population of ‘big cats’ exists in Victoria.
2. The lack of any formal evidence from considerable mammal survey effort, using a broad range of techniques over many decades, strongly suggests that there is no wild population of ‘big cats’.
3. The most parsimonious explanation for many of the reported sightings is that they involve large, feral individuals of the Domestic Cat Felis catus.
4. Notwithstanding conclusions 1-3, some evidence cannot be dismissed entirely, including preliminary DNA evidence, footprints and some behaviours that seem to be outside the known behavioural repertoire of known predators in Victoria.
5. Only primary evidence in the form of specimens of unquestioned provenance, or DNA from sources of unquestioned provenance, can establish, once and for all, that a population of ‘big cats’ occurs in Victoria, and the specific identity of any such animals. High quality photographs of proven provenance would also constitute compelling evidence.

Those people who are certain they know the exact size of the big cat they saw in the distance in dim light should look at a few optical illusions like this one. Are the lines A-B and C-D the same size?


Perception of size is notoriously unreliable. After all, the moon looks bigger near the horizon than it does overhead, but it is the same size.

Originally Posted by Epic_Dragon

I think pumas/mountain lion/cougour exist here in australia. I do not think there are many. which is surprised considering how domestic cats breed even worse than rabbits. That ones bone structure looks nothing like a domestic cat, nor a feral cat as they are very similar bone structurally to pet cats. just like they are on steroids haha. That has a longer, flatter face structure looking at the picture. Flatter and wider through the nose though its hard to tell. Poor thing wonder what happened to it? could be the rotten infected tooth there killed it. God its got really large teeth lol! Feral cats, like mentioned already don't get to dog sized LOL. They get large, there is a big black one around here, its useless though it cannot even catch the mice in the horse feed. Im sort of 'taming' it haha. A friendly alliance with it! It is about the size of a well fed large fox. There is an old story of how large cats may have come to be here. Long time ago they came over with people during war i think. (if you google origins of big cats in australia should find it) But they had them as working animals for defense. When they left they got told to go and kill them. But the soldiers were too attached to their large feline friends. So instead of shooting them. They were set free. That is supposedly where they came from. They are elusive, and if they do not wish to be found they wont. I do hope they don't start killing humans. I think because there is not many they have a good supply of food. If their food dries up they will start attacking lifestock more frequently than they do now, and then progress to other pray i suppose. Guess if that ever happened then we would know if was myth or not definately! I think they are here though. And there is no way i would go in any of those areas at night, on my own!

I shot a ginger Feral cat in 1976 in the Gulf Country and took it back to camp (Mary Kathleen) and weighed it. It weighed 22kgs, skinned it and pegged it out on the back verandah of my donga, was gone the next morning, seems the local dogs had an appetite for pussy.
Did'nt get any pics, but at least my co-workers got to see it, it was about the size of a Dingo or at least twice the size of a domestic cat, the area I shot it was a place called Sedan Dip which is north of Julia Ck., best feral pig and cat shooting in Qld., Regards Frank.

I've seen and shot at feral cats as large as a cocker spaniel, there is no way a puma/ panther/ cougar would last for 70 odd years without at least one being captured or shot.