Cougar sighting

[Shortytheyakker]

Well that picture above sheds a whole new light on things,,jet black and as big as a cougar but the DNA came back as a normal cat.

I still believe theres cougars out there though,,theres to many sightings and that just the ones we hear about,,most you will not hear of.

[Jethro]

That photo looks a bit out of perspective.... I think the cat is closer to the camers to try and make it look bigger...

Im not calling anyone a liar but I have to agree with Kenshin. With reasonable quality cameras almost everywhere today, you think there would be some better quality photos available.....

unless of course its been covered up...... *play Twilight Zone music*

[__MATT__]

I laughed so hard at that clip when the techno music cut in and the old dude started getting into it.

On a more serious note, my dad has always said that when driving us to yorkes when we were younger (of course, mum was asleep in the front seat next to him) he saw a cat that just about covered the left lane. Maybe it was just a big feral cat, he also said it was black, but hes no schmuck, and a mate of ours down there (marion bay) used to kill ferals for cash on the side. He would get a call e.g "theres a feral cat in my shed" and then go around with a bat. He has never seen one close to that big.

[monksie]

Originally Posted by Kenshin

i remain skeptical, a 100 dollar kodac easyshare camera can take better photo's/footage then whats been provided plus if there were so many people or even just one dedicated person trapping/hunting them since 2001 then they would have bagged at least one by now

what rubbish.

i think you need to do a bit of research about the 6,000 cougars (and millions of hunters/bushwalkers with cameras) in the USA and look at the amount of wild cougars either photographed/filmed or shot (without a trained dog team, of which there are none in Oz) over there. then apply that to the handful of hunters and handful of cats over here - no chance of a random shooting or photograph if USA is anything to go by.

a dedicated person trapping/hunting them in the heart of cougar country in Montana USA would never get one in a lifetime (or even see one) without a trained dog team. fact.

[Hooked]

Fair go monksie you make cougars sound like a mythical unicorn... Speaking of which l'll be doing some scouting in the south west for this guy come the Walpole round....

[monksie]

Originally Posted by Hooked

Fair go monksie you make cougars sound like a mythical unicorn... Speaking of which l'll be doing some scouting in the south west for this guy come the Walpole round....

no, just asserting a few facts.

the 'mythical' part is believing someone can just walk through the bush, see a cougar and shoot or film it. that myth comes from people watching and believing Disney movies.

and i can see why people don't bother coming forward with their sightings in public, just look at the cougar jokes etc and as far as Bigfoot goes - well, Bigfoot has never been proven to exist. i've never seen a bigfoot in a zoo like the 2 cougars that used to be at Perth zoo. no comparison.

no apologies for taking the young blokes sighting seriously.

[renovator]

15 years ago 3 of us were driving back from a Shark Bay fishing trip and we were on a Water Board sewer laying track Perth northern suburbs. Out of the bush 50mtrs away a big black cat streaked across the track. I looked at one of the others ,at the same time ,Did you see that!!
Not only was its length that got us,the way it moved separated it from any pussies i had at home.
Whenever we catch up,its not how ya goin mate,first words are "did ya see that"

[Hooked]

So all these sightings if l'm right are just a plain old domestic species turned feral and growing to unusual sizes due to its surroundings,natural selection and need for survival because as you stated you'd need a trained dog team to ever come in contact with "the cougar".
Not trying to burst anyones theory's mate just seeing both sides of the coin on people's beliefs.
l used to tag along with my brothers pig hunting dog teams and the feral cats that used to end up rag doll's between the bunch were incredible in size but not one was a cougar.
l do believe some enormous feral cats are being sighted though.Hell Moby had one attached to his head when he came screaming out of the forest (funny as big sook) at Rest Point one year.
l'm a sceptic on the whole circus,air force,army mascot theory's because unless they where releasing breeding pairs lm pretty sure any single animal from times gone by are well and truly dead.
Not everyone subscribes to the legends is all...

Cheers Steve

[monksie]

Hooked, you'd need a trained dog team (or heavy snow if you're a real Hiowatha hunter) to track and then either kill or photo one.

of course you could come in contact with one (jump across road etc) without dogs, but it's hard to shoot a blurr and the USA example is testimony to that.

Dowelly and mate bumped this thing while it was bedded down by the sounds of it. a nice secure remote spot and next minute two bream buffs come stomping through the bush - must've surprised the cat more than the surprise they got on seeing it. if not for the cliff the cat would've just slunk off outta sight without them ever knowing most probably. but with it's back to a cliff and two humans about to step on it, it had no choice but to give them a good look at it as it hastily departed the scene. bet it won't ever pick that possie for a cat nap again.

i've had my hands on a camera and mate his .270 rifle in hand in our encounter (a flash across the track). no chance.

a few years back on a big property bordering Fitz Nat Pk 'something' was walking up behind ewes, grabbing 'em from behind (big claw marks either side of flanks when sheared) and basically eating the lambs just before birth. every night they'd be out driving and looking and couldn't stop it.

the cat issue made state handsard in the 1980.

s'funny how Dowelly and mate, with no interest or any real prior knowledge on the subject, see the exact same animal description as everyone else reports. never spots or stripes, always the same description. reports are all 80% jet black and 20% tawny brown and no variation. black must be the dominant gene as if you wind the clock back a few decades the brown colour was much more predominant. nowadays it's almost alwys black.

one we encountered was brown, just like all the sightings in that area (about 6 in last 3 years to gingin council).

[Minnows]

I agree, I have no doubt they exist (big bad ferals that is). I can rarely find my own cat in my own house, they will simply not be seen if they don't want to be.. but like ferals just wait until the population explodes, big cats will become quite a common site in the future. Although hesitant to acknowledge it (as there really isn't much the authorities can do about it) they admit big cat presence is more likely than not.

[Hooked]

lm afraid your argument has done nothing to convince me mate...l know Dowelly pretty well and l don't refute what he saw being a large cat, but to now assume it was a cougar because it looked big and black is not much ammo and if this is the science lm sorry it can sit on the shelf with the "ghost theory's" too.
l don't doubt people are seeing larger than life moggies just not a fabled cougar.As for new lambs being taken l will try to convince the bro to send me some pic's on eastern vico and northern nsw feral's these things could bring down a feral goat and lm sure they do.We've found them feeding on shot feral pig caucus so its not a huge leap to think that they hunt on there own accord as they have for century's.Hell our marsupial friends are testament to that.The devastation to them is of a major concern.
Well we could do this all day and not resolve anything but l have a big foot to track and Moby is useless on the nose unless fish are involved so l will let everyone believe what they believe and hold no prejudice or animosity to wards them for doing so.

Stevo out.....................

[shano]

who knows until theres a dna match then its up to the pig shooters to pop of a few extra cats at the same time i dont have a prob with that at all being a dog lover
ive seen jet black domestic cats, everyone has and they might just be a dominant feral species that like any feral cat will grow much bigger than its domestic size. being black and hunting during the night is a massive advantage survival wise and might rack up a few extra meals than the average orangee brown cat
that pic in the previous page is pretty confronting. does leave the possibility open to have me say i cant deny or beleive it 100 percent
interesting thread fellas

[Minnows]

I guess all you can really do is keep an open mind.. but one thing's for sure, THE MOTHMAN IS VERY REAL!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYunzkRRNPI

[Yardi]

Perhaps it wasnt really a Cougar it could have been one of these
(just kiddin Dowell man)

Now where getting into the realms of the Twilight Zone MinnowMan

But saying that there may be some truth to mythical animals such as Bigfoot, Mothman, Yowies etc as an example the Giant Squid which up until recently were thought to be the imagination of sailors from the past now we know they exist.

Nothing is beyond the realms of possibiltiy including Cougars and Panthers roaming the Australian Bush.

Mark