Call out for big cat sightings in Macarthur
There has been plenty of debate in recent years around the existence of panthers in the Australian bush.
A warning scrawled on the signpost to the Wodi Wodi track, near Stanwell Park, records a December, 2012 encounter.
The photo of the mysterious black panther that has been said to roam the Illawarra escarpment has been proved to be fake but has sparked some unlikely imitations as critics seek to prove the point. Click the image to read the story
Big cat expert Vaughan King.
Here, Kitty: The paw print was the only undisturbed one of its kind in the area. It is shown against an 8cm Bic lighter. Picture: John Geragotellis Click the image to read the story
Dog spoors (front and hind) produce a perfect 'x' when lines are drawn between the toes and the planter pad, Mr King suggests. Click the image to read the story
... the same rule does not apply to these tracks, produced by a female leopard. Source: Vaughan King
BELIEVERS: Greg Culley and his son Samuel say they saw the black panther north of Knapsack Reserve on Lapstone Creek.
Creators of a new documentary are calling for people who have seen the elusive black panther in Macarthur to report the sighting.
Big cat expert Vaughan King will investigate the myth of big cats in the Australian bush in a new documentary, The Hunt.
He is asking members of the public who have seen a big cat in the Australian bush in the last two months to report the sighting.
The reports will be investigated over the next six months and filmed for the documentary.
A number of big cat sightings have been reported in Macarthur. Picture: Panther People
There was also a reported sighting near Pulpit Rock in Blackheath and near Martin’s Lookout in Springwood.
The Hunt director Stu Ross said big cats in the bush are often dismissed as an urban myth.
“In the film, via the painstaking and committed efforts of our researchers, we have an opportunity to document the emergence of such a myth into the light of scientific observation,” Mr Ross said.
Big cat expert Vaughan King.
The latest evidence gathering techniques include top of the line technology in motion activated camera traps and thermal drones, he said.
Creators said they don’t intent to hurt the animals, they only want to see them protected and proven to be there.
You can report a big cat sighting here.
Source: Illawarra Mercury
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