NSW big cat report says 'matter closed'

A doctor, dentist, solicitor, clergyman and Qantas pilot have all seen it, as have numerous Rural Fire Service volunteers and an officer from the Department of Agriculture. A NSW detective spoke of how he watched the beast, from barely 50 metres away, for more than a minute. And like most others, he is "convinced" it was a black panther.

Rumours have circulated for decades about a colony of "Big cats" roaming Sydney's western fringes and beyond. But today, a report commissioned by the State Government has concluded that the many hundreds who have seen the panther are wrong.


Ms Coffey said of the report: "We continue to be treated like fringe-dwelling idiots. This is an insult to everyone who has seen the creature."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/the-matter-is-closed-new-report-into-blue-mountains-big-cat-20131018-2vs6v.html#ixzz2i6oJqaeG

Interestingly, like many state government 'big cat' reports before it, the book Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers was used as a resource!

On the trail of the Black Panther

He’s devoted more than a decade to investigating sightings of the elusive Blue Mountains panther.

Hazelbrook’s Mike Williams and partner Rebecca Lang were pleased to hear that the black cat is back in the news with the state government investigating sightings of the panther.

The Department of Primary Industries is holding an independent inquiry into reports of large free-ranging cats following discussions with Hawkesbury MP Ray Williams (no relation), the parliamentary secretary for Western Sydney. A DPI spokesman said the report would look at past evidence to “assess the likelihood of the presence of large free-ranging cats”.

It’s due at the end of the year and Williams and Lang’s 450 page book Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers is in the mix as a resource for the inquiry.

So do  big cats really roam the bush? Mr Williams and Ms Lang believe something is definitely out there, probably an animal escaped years ago from a private zoo in the Penrith area.

“I think of all the mythological supposed animals, cats can be proven to exist, it’s much more plausible that a large black cat exists or that a smaller cat could be misidentified,” Mr Williams said.

“They’re there, it’s a mystery, but I don’t know what they are.”

The duo will hold their own 3km Blue Mountains Panther Bushwalk — In Search of Big Cats around Knapsack Creek in Glenbrook during the coming Festival of Walking. Walkers will hear about “compelling” local sightings, see casts taken of suspected big cat prints and see photos of the suspected monster moggies.

“We will probably get someone at the end who complains about not seeing a black cat, but it’s a bit of fun and they will learn about local folklore,” Mr Williams, 53, said.

Participants have been asked to wear sturdy shoes and bring water, a hat and “an open mind”. The event is on October 5 from 10.30am and, for insurance reasons, registration through the festival’s website is required before attending.

Historic Emmaville panther reports come to light

The Glen Innes Examiner recently featured the reflections of several readers about their personal 'Emmaville panther' stories and sightings, as related by journalist Liz Chappell. She wrote:

When I was growing up at Dundee in the 1950s I longed to see the Emmaville panther.
But my mother told me it was only seen by men who were out too late at night.

Since the Examiner revisited the legend of the local panther a couple of weeks ago, several other believers have come forward with reports of sightings or strange yowls and things that go thump in the night.

It seems the panther has made its appearance in places other than Emmaville, sometimes in broad daylight.

John King from Matheson can clearly remember an incident 18 years ago.

At around 3am he and his wife Val were woken by a blood curdling screech in their front garden, followed by a loud thump of something hitting the ground.

“I went out and found our pet cat right at the top of the tree.

“The yowl I heard was definitely not from a domestic cat and the weight that hit the ground made a loud thud.” He recalls.

This was one of four reported incidents around Matheson within around three weeks, attributed to a panther type creature.

A large black cat was sighted crossing the Gwydir highway one night. Another Matheson resident reported their dogs being terrified and unwilling to come outside.

Local grazier, Jenny Anderson, then living at “Caloola” at the top of the Matheson Valley, saw a large black animal she believes was a panther.

“I was mustering sheep for crutching in the hills at the back of our property. I had dogs with me and was moving the mob down a fence line when I saw a large black catlike animal sitting on a log on the other side of the fence.

“It was definitely not an illusion,” Mrs Anderson says.

“This animal was black and shiny and about the size of a well grown kelpie. By the time I got the sheep through the gate it was gone.

“When I got the sheep down to the shed my husband said I looked very pale and shaken.

Those who have seen the panther recall it vividly even decades later. Cathy Potter, who now lives at Tenterfield, was newly married when she, with her husband Peter and his mother, sighted a panther at their Emmaville property “Wongalea” in 1967.

“Peter’s mother saw it first and called us to look. It was early in the morning at this animal was only about 500 meters from the house. We were looking at it uphill against a fence and it looked about the length of two fence panels (4m) from head to tail.

“I’ve never forgotten it. It was phenomenal, not an everyday thing. Horses wouldn’t go near the area where we saw it. There was an unusual smell around there.

“The next day we came across three big paw prints on the road,

“We had a number of sheep killed on “Wongalea” at this time. They were hollowed out like a cat eats, nothing like a wild dog kill. One morning on the other side of the property about 2 miles from the house I came across a sheep with its leg completely bitten off,” Mrs Potter recalls.

Peter Potter and his mother had previously sighted what they believed to be a panther in 1963. This one was sitting near the Bungulla Hall, not far from the road when they drove past, in separate vehicles one night.

Mrs Potter remembers quite a few people around Emmaville saying they’d seen the panther around this time.

“Some people wouldn’t report it because they thought they’d be laughed at,” Mrs Potter said.

Stuart Boyd-Law from National Parks and Wildlife Service is quite sure no panther or panthers are at large in the district now.

As Pest Management officer for the NPWS Glen Innes and Tenterfield areas, Mr Boyd-Law is responsible for monitoring and controlling all pest animals on the parks area of 324,000ha.”For the past 3 to 4 years we have had remote cameras across most of our parks tracking animal movements and we have never seen anything like a panther, “ Mr Boyd-Law said.

“ No panthers have been found, dead or run over on the roads. I haven’t seen a good photo of one or scats or paw prints. This gives me grave doubts about panther sightings.

Mr Boyd Law said the largest feral cats are 8-10 kilos, much smaller than the animals reported as the panther.

Have you entered the CFZ's Australian Big Cats competition? It closes September 1, 2012!

Australian Big Cats still fascinate readers

Photo courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jaguar.jpg 

We're pleased to see Dr Darren Naish's review of our books Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers AND Savage Shadow: The Search for the Australian Cougar continues to be one of the most popular posts on his Scientific American blog, which has just chalked up its 100th post! 

"It is, to date, the ultimate book on the subject and one that should definitely be consulted by anyone seriously interested in Australian cryptozoology, or indeed in cat lore or biology in general. Given that Australian ‘big cats’ – whatever they are – have received all too little ‘official’ attention, will this huge book be the catalyst that helps break down the stigma that still surrounds this fascinating subject?"

Well, we live in hope Darren! :-)

Meow! Australian Big Cats Competition

*** WIN 2 BOOKS and a beautiful big cat SCULPTURE! ***

To celebrate the fact we have two books out now and a third underway (shhhhh! a secret for now) we want to run this fabulous competition to reward you, our loyal readers and Facebook likers!

Win this beautiful David Geenty cold-cast bronze sculpture of a Puma/Cougar/Mountain Lion mounted on a wooden base. We love this so much we have one of our own on our bookshelf (and no, you won't be getting that one!). You will also win two signed copies of Savage Shadow (1 copy) AND Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers (1 copy). Altogether the prize is worth more than A$120!

To go into the running, you need to post a review(s) of one or more of our books (Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers and/or Savage Shadow: The Search for the Australian Cougar) to Amazon.com and/or Amazon.co.uk. It's easy to join these sites and your positive reviews will help support us in selling our books.

The more reviews you post, the better your chances! The maximum number of times you can enter is four (4) - a review of each book on both sites.

We will be drawing the winner (there is only one (1) prize) on Sepetember 1. This competition is open to all.

So get moving and get your reviews posted!

Mystery track puzzles Queenslanders

Over at the Australian Big Cats blog run by CFZer Mike Williams is this bush mystery - a clawed print found in the muddy red soil of far north Queensland.

"We were walking thru the bush along side a man-made dam and found these tracks running along side a cow's tracks. It measured 11cms in width..."

You can read about more sightings at www.australianbigcats.com

Panther spotted in Lithgow, NSW

The Lithgow Mercury has a story about another local big cat sighting:

"Lithgow's Black Panther has been here today and gone tomorrow leaving little evidence it ever was and those who claim to have seen it in total shock over the years.
The last reported sighting was in early August this year not far from Crane Road.

One long term resident of Lithgow, Marika Vervoorn, has also witnessed the elusive black panther in recent years up near her son’s property at Mt Walker and says people should not be sceptical about reported sightings.

“I travel up that road regularly,” Ms Vervoorn said.

“On one trip about five year ago the panther jumped out about 500 metres in front of my car.

“As it neared my son’s gate it turned allowing me to get a good look at its profile.

“It was definitely all panther in the face, black all over and as big a Rottweiler but heavier.”

Ms Vervoorn got in touch with a black panther researcher, Michael Williams, who told her there had been 600 sightings reported over the years in the area stretching from Jenolan Caves through to the Queensland border.

Mr Williams’ aim was to raise awareness that the black panther or panthers are out there and to report sightings in an attempt to keep track of this very shy over sized kitty on steroids."