Australia:Man gets plaster cast of giant cat prints found near Gympie

Australia:Man gets plaster cast of giant cat prints found near Gympie

www.news.com.au

* Giant cat stalking wildlife
* Farmer talks plaster cast of footprint
* Lion-sized paw print is 14cm long
Mr Rossow, 67, who retired to his rural acreage in Pepper Rd 16 months ago, said there was no doubt some sort of panther-size cat was living in the area, The Courier-Mail reports.

"I grew up in the bush and I know when big cats are around," he said. "I've heard this cat before. It's not a kangaroo or a dog ... it's a caterwauling and sometimes it sort of grunts and chuffs."
"There was still this one big print where a kangaroo had come around the corner fast and sort of half slipped and the cat had come around after it and leaned into the corner with its front right paw," he said.

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Picture:


[edit on 13/1/09 by Zelong]

Picture:

Real proof of Big cats in Glenwood, north of Gympie(Queensland I think) these big cats are along the east coast off Australia a lot of sightings in Victoria and Perth(West Coast) as well.
"There was still this one big print where a kangaroo had come around the corner fast and sort of half slipped and the cat had come around after it and leaned into the corner with its front right paw," he said.
Arm up we are going Hunting.

Zelong

www.news.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 13/1/09 by Zelong]

Could it possibly be someone's pet let loose? As silly as it sounds, people do illegally keep tigers and lions as pets, and when they become to big to take care of, they might either sell it to poachers or let it loose.

That is a huge paw print but it doesn't really look like a big cats paw it's claws are out. Most big cats don't walk around with their claws in that position.
Here's a paw print of a large cat.



It could be something else all together.

Source

A good example of this can be seen in one famous case which took place during 1890, when a huge reptile, 30 feet in length, instituted a brief reign of terror among the inhabitants of the village of Euroa, Victoria. It tramped its way across properties, leaving behind its gigantic footprints to confirm its awesome size. It was described as a monstrous goanna by those who had happened to see it roaming the bush. A search party of forty men was formed. Armed with nets and guns, and with cattle dogs to the fore, they ventured off into the surrounding bushland in an attempt to trap the fearsome reptile; but it just disappeared or moved on to another area, never to be seen again in the Euroa district.

[edit on 13-1-2009 by SLAYER69]

Maybe it’s the “Thylacine” (Tasmanian Tiger) which is now extinct (since 1936). But many believe there are some still alive in the wild. They were native to Australia (mainland & Tas) and also New Guinea.

There have been apparently several sightings of them around Australia.

Possible?

Mikey


[edit on 13/1/2009 by Mikey84]

Good point. And something else that caught my eye is that the cat has 5 claws in the front, or at least it may seem. It may just be an extra part of the plaster.

reply to post by SLAYER69


The OP didn't say the cat was walking.

one big print where a kangaroo had come around the corner fast and sort of half slipped and the cat had come around after it and leaned into the corner with its front right paw," he said

A cat that is running and has to change direction quickly will put its claws out for extra grip.

tip for anyone researching this:
I was in the Grampian mountains this past summer and read a bunch of articles in a roadside Tea-house which had article clippings of a bunch of non-indigenous "big cats" (dunno exactly which ones) being released into the bush by American WWII pilots who kept them as mascots.

May sound ridiculous but there's pictures to prove it out there somewhere, I saw em

I remember hearing about the Panther "myth" when I was visiting a friend in Gympie a few years ago. He told me about it when he was drunk and until now I figured he was making it up. It was a few years ago so I can't remember the exact details but according to him there was a ship carrying some Panthers that sank on one of the reefs up there over 100 years ago, the panthers survived and their offspring have been living in the wild ever since. You can see why I didn't believe the story, still don't but this article is interesting none the less.

reply to post by Mikey84


Thylacine paws are nowhere near as big as a big cat - not even close.

They are smaller than a man's fist.

Originally posted by vaticinus
tip for anyone researching this:
I was in the Grampian mountains this past summer and read a bunch of articles in a roadside Tea-house which had article clippings of a bunch of non-indigenous "big cats" (dunno exactly which ones) being released into the bush by American WWII pilots who kept them as mascots.

May sound ridiculous but there's pictures to prove it out there somewhere, I saw em

I believe you both I've had my own sighting as well I'll post about it next post .

Originally posted by Jacob08 I remember hearing about the Panther "myth" when I was visiting a friend in Gympie a few years ago. He told me about it when he was drunk and until now I figured he was making it up. It was a few years ago so I can't remember the exact details but according to him there was a ship carrying some Panthers that sank on one of the reefs up there over 100 years ago, the panthers survived and their offspring have been living in the wild ever since. You can see why I didn't believe the story, still don't but this article is interesting none the less.

I've read about sightings in Perth,story goes along the lines of in WW2 or WW1 (not sure) there were GI's stationed in Perth,after the war they were supposed to put their mascots down which were pumas,most didn't and were released into the wild (I would of too).

Another Story:
Source:

Over the last 100 -150 years a large number of people have reported seeing large cats, up to lion size, in the Australian bush. These sightings have included animals like the Emmaville panther, the Kangaroo Valley panther and' the Grampians puma. Some believe that these animals are descendents of puma brought to Australia by American goldminers during the Australian gold rush in the mid-nineteenth century. This may explain why these sightings are generally made along the Great Dividing Range in eastern Australia and in the south-west of 'Western Australia where most of the early gold mining activity took place.

In Victoria there are a lot of sighting even a Carcass of a Panther was found once but was stolen next night before an autopsy.I've seen one very good still picture of a Panther in a paddock walking along a story which was on a documentary on these panthers it was stated the reason the Park Rangers wouldn't confirm these Beasts as they would have to close the park for liability reasons to the public.

Here's another report from a guy who hit one in his car Springbrook (QLD) Saturday 25/09/2008 which is not far from Glenwood (QLD).

Source:

20081022 - Springbrook (QLD) Sighting - Saturday 25/09/2008 about 2:00 am Reported 27/10/2008 Subject: Sighting Springbrook Hi Paul, My mate and I are avid photographers, yesterday (saturday 25th oct) we set off from Brisbane at 2am to head to Springbrook national park before sunset. We were traveling through Neranwood at about 3:30am when I hit something in the car, looking back I saw a massive black cat conintuing to run across the road. No damage to the car and I swerved so the impact was light. No sign of the cat near the scrub on the road though we both weren't game to go looking. Estimated size 800cm to 1m not including tail. Are sightings common around Springbrook area? I'd like to find out more information of sightings in Queensland, in particular Brisbane area, or information explaining what I saw. Thanks Paul, Steve Author / Witness - Steve B... - Reported - Wednesday 27/10/2008 - 3:10 AM

A lot more sightings here as well Panthers

Sources:
uqconnect.net...
www.mysteriousaustralia.com...

Here's more good paw print pictures in snow at Mt Buller Victoria:

Source:

20080714 - Mt. Buller (VIC) Sighting Date 11/07/2008 at 12:46 pm - Reported 14/07/2008 Subject:- big cat foot prints Hi, I was motorbike riding in the mountains near Mt. Buller on the weekend and found these foot prints in the snow , what do you think these are. one photo has the top of my boot next to it. thanks Paul B..... Author / Witness - Paul B..... - Reported 14/07/08

Zelong.

[edit on 14/1/09 by Zelong]

There certainly are some big cats around, in Victoria at least. I've seen one. It was a black panther or I think the same animal is sometimes refered to as a black cougar. There was no mistaking what it was. It was not a ferral moggie or some weird dog or anything. It crossed the road 30 feet in front of my car. As to the plaster cast print... I would not be at all surprised to find that it was made by the same type of animal as I saw. It was certainly large enough.