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New evidence of big cats

Posted on September 11, 2008, 9:09am and updated on September 11, 2008 at 4:29 pm ,  16 views

Mount Burr resident Fred van der Heul found a sheep ripped to shreds near his home.

When Mount Burr resident Fred van der Heul found a mutilated sheep carcase in the pine forest behind his home yesterday morning, his first thought was of the elusive “black panther”.

Mr van der Heul and his black labrador cross alsatian Roxy were taking their usual morning walk through the forest to the Millicent Golf Course when he spotted the sheep just off the track, still warm.

All that remained of the creature was its head, legs, back strap and stomach, which had been torn away, and a bundle of wool two metres from where it was left.

According to many locals, the panthers were released into Western Victoria when World War Two United States Army troops were found to have smuggled them into the country as mascots.

They were ordered to put them down, but they took up residence in the Grampians.

Mr van der Heul said he had found a footprint about the size of a saucer on the other side of Mount Graham that was neither horse or dog.

He thought the panthers had been pushed down from the Grampians when drought and fires reduced their habitat.

Many people believe the big cats are responsible for slaughtering kangaroos and farm stock across the district for more than 60 years.

More recently, South East residents have reported sightings of the panthers as close to home as the forests around Mount Gambier and Penola.

According to Mr van der Heul, there may not be proof of the panthers’ existence in these parts but he has definitely found evidence.

“What killed that sheep was bigger than a dog or house cat, even a feral cat - you could tell it had been a heavy animal from the amount of fleece left behind,” he said.

“The nearest sheep to here are Mitch Williams’ stock, down near the Glencoe turnoff.

“There is no way the sheep could have got there by itself and it would have taken a lot of strength to drag that one to the other side of Mount Burr.

“I don’t think we need to worry about our pets - there are plenty of kangaroos and deer around, and a dam half way up the hill.

“Hopefully whatever it is doesn’t keep attacking livestock though.”

ELLIE TURNER

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Comments

6 Responses to “New evidence of big cats”

  1. Pyrrho on September 11th, 2008 10:39 am 1

    I think the author of this article might need to step back for some perspective.
    This is not evidence of a “big cat”
    It is a dead sheep. It is evidence that a sheep was killed by something that made a mess of it.
    Apply Occam’s razor (the most simple explanation being the most likely).
    Dog/dogs are a far more likely solution, and foxes cannot be ruled out.
    Even people intent on hoax.

    The big cat theory is not impossible, however, but the evidence is flimsy at best, and if any of the influx of investigators and experts can bring any new evidence to the table, then we are all ears. I strongly suspect that the current interest in these alleged beasts is more to do with what is being a topic of media interest, and not so much any rise in mysterious events in the wilds of the South East, but I an open to information.

  2. Maybe on September 11th, 2008 4:07 pm 2

    Media interest? I think the only people interested at the journalists writing about it…. constantly.

  3. Pyrrho on September 11th, 2008 4:29 pm 3

    That’s what I was implying. Beat up.

  4. Bradley Laing on September 15th, 2008 9:31 am 4

    Your article about “black panthers” fails to note that the term “Panther” is used in the U. S. to apply to brown-furred big cats, and the sightings you are talking about are of black-furred big cats.

    Even assuming a breeding population of brown furred big cats were released into the wild in the 1940s, that would not explain black-furred big cats being seen by witnesses.

  5. Pyrrho on September 15th, 2008 12:54 pm 5

    I may be incorrect here, by I understood that a “black” panther or puma was caused by a recessive gene, and was uncommon in wild populations. Black is a recessive trait in leopards at least, so both parents have to carry at least one copy of the recessive gene for black in order for black offspring to occur.
    If there actually is a feral population, (which personally find very unlikely, but not impossible) then this should make the occurrence of black cats very rare indeed.

  6. Cow on September 22nd, 2008 10:29 am 6

    I think your evidence is flimsy but there has been a lot of talk about it and I think it’s true.

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