Chilean tourist Romina Bucarey was under the mistaken impression that 'big cats' must have been native to Australia after one sauntered across her path recently in Victoria.
She casually asked workmates at the Hare Krishna Valley farm about the resident wild panthers and was surprised by the response.
Ms Bucarey, 33, was walking by herself along a track about a kilometre from the farm, off Winchelsea-Deans Marsh Rd, at the weekend when she saw a big cat about 100m in front of her.
"It was very clear, about 6.30pm, she was walking fast," she said. "It was completely black, and shiny ... like normal size for being a panther. My reaction was I didn't continue to walk because I didn't know if she can attack me."
Readers of Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers will remember the Winchelsea area as the location where some suspected big cat faeces was collected and analysed by a government department and deemed 'possibly leopard'!
She casually asked workmates at the Hare Krishna Valley farm about the resident wild panthers and was surprised by the response.
Ms Bucarey, 33, was walking by herself along a track about a kilometre from the farm, off Winchelsea-Deans Marsh Rd, at the weekend when she saw a big cat about 100m in front of her.
"It was very clear, about 6.30pm, she was walking fast," she said. "It was completely black, and shiny ... like normal size for being a panther. My reaction was I didn't continue to walk because I didn't know if she can attack me."
Readers of Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers will remember the Winchelsea area as the location where some suspected big cat faeces was collected and analysed by a government department and deemed 'possibly leopard'!
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