Thread: Big Cats, myth or real ?

Originally Posted by vnx205

Except in Tasmania, where they get eaten bones and all by Tasmanian Devils. There is a suggestion that Tas Devils are the reason Dot Butler's son hasn't been found yet.

Wade disappeared near Precipitous Bluff in 1995. It was the Kowmung River that took her daughter Wendy, and son Norm died from a snake bite. I walked with Dot a few times when I was a member of the SBW. Dot was a great (and very tough) lady.

Cheers
KarlB

Originally Posted by KarlB

Wade disappeared near Precipitous Bluff in 1995. It was the Kowmung River that took her daughter Wendy, and son Norm died from a snake bite. I walked with Dot a few times when I was a member of the SBW. Dot was a great (and very tough) lady.

Cheers
KarlB

I always thought it was rather sad that her children were taken in that way. I know people like to say, "He/she went doing something they enjoyed". I like to think that they would have enjoyed even more to have survived to do even more of the activities that they found so pleasurable.

When I was at UNE in Armidale I climbed a few of the Warrumbungles peaks that she and Dr Dark climbed. I believe our route up Belougery Spire was known as Dr Dark's Chimney.

Originally Posted by tonymid

On a trip through Murrindindi, nth of Melbourne about 2001 I saw a big cat with my own eyes. We turned a corner in Marginal Rd and a huge black cat was crossing the road in front of us. Long body, even longer black tail. To this day I'm convinced it was not a feral cat. I was aware of the "big cat" rumours, now I think they are true. I told a long term Narbethong resident about my sighting and he said he had also seen the big black cat.
Tonymid.

The Taggerty Panther.
The big cat in that area was claimed to have been seen by several locals including my Great Uncle. Now Uncle Bill was known to have stretched the truth a long way more than once, however some of the (proven fact) stuff he did get up to was enough for me to believe he had seen a big cat, but probably a feral of several generations and good genes rather than a true panther.
In the early 90's I shot a feral tabby out the back of Dad's place that was bigger than the adult fox shot the same day.
My opinion is that any real exotic cats that were released would have struggled to breed and spread as widely as reported.
Big ferals exist, big exotic cats in Australia are in zoos.
But then again, I believe in Aliens and have seen UFOs that couldn't be explained (yes beer was involved at the time).

I've seen more cats than most people including some pretty massive Maine Coons, but the canine teeth in that picture are a lot heavier and longer than a normal domestic cat. A domestic cat's canine teeth are usually narrower and pointier from my experience.

Anyone gone back to collect that skull?

Originally Posted by Dougal

Anyone gone back to collect that skull?

Bit far out of my way - and most people's by looking where it is...

Originally Posted by Dougal

Anyone gone back to collect that skull?

Why? If you did this thread would not exist. It would not take very long for a trained person to identify that skull if they had access to it. DNA would put and end to any doubt.

I havn't had time to read all this thread; however there's a big cat North of Licola also.

I took a group of year 10 students through Tarli Karng a few years ago. We spent a very nervous night after seeing rear paw prints in the dust, and front claw marks in the tree at my armpit height. One student said it couldn have been a dog, but I didn't think dogs could extend and retract their claws.