Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

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Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by Oldbloke » 11 May 2021, 7:47 pm

Welll,,, maybe.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-11/ ... /100130380

I spotted one many years ago. Large jet black cat running. But still convinced it was just a largish feral cat. But many would have reported it as a puma Im sure.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by on_one_wheel » 11 May 2021, 9:03 pm

Iffy story ... but his the size of that skin!
The other photo looks to be rather massive to.

It's inevitable that feral cats will get bigger, they've even managed to adapt to desert conditions in such a way that they can survive without water relying on only prey for hydration.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by animalpest » 11 May 2021, 10:05 pm

Was involved with puma sighting evidence gathering in WA for 8 years in the 80's. Never found decent evidence.

That skin could be off anything anywhere.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by womble » 12 May 2021, 4:20 am

I saw a yowie walking one on a leash after eating some homemade cookies that a bloke brought with us camping.
He waved back too.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by wanneroo » 12 May 2021, 5:22 am

In terms of the cougars/mountain lions in the Americas, there are not any black cats despite much mythology around them.

Has Australia ever allowed them to be imported as pets?

A male cougar can get up close to 200 pounds.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by Bill » 12 May 2021, 9:51 am

Every so called Puma picture from Oz the animal has huge ears relative to its head size just like a large domestic cat.

Puma's have huge heads compared to the small rounded ears they have. ;)
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by on_one_wheel » 12 May 2021, 1:29 pm

wanneroo wrote:In terms of the cougars/mountain lions in the Americas, there are not any black cats despite much mythology around them.

Has Australia ever allowed them to be imported as pets?

A male cougar can get up close to 200 pounds.


I've seen black domestic cats in Australia but can't recall seeing any feral ones, it seems tabby is the dominant gene.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by CT hillbilly » 13 May 2021, 7:57 am

womble wrote:I saw a yowie walking one on a leash after eating some homemade cookies that a bloke brought with us camping.
He waved back too.

Thank Christ I’m not the only one that has seen such a thing hahaha
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by bigpete » 13 May 2021, 12:07 pm

Sure they did....
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by Peter988 » 13 May 2021, 12:30 pm

Played 9 holes at Emmaville golf course yesterday. Didn’t see the famed Emmaville panther. Bugger.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by womble » 13 May 2021, 3:58 pm

This in the Yarra valley last week. Def not a dog.

Image
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by Oldbloke » 13 May 2021, 4:25 pm

Was driving back to camp and actually saw a largish Brown cat run across a SF track last evening. No chance for a shot though. Very coincidental.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by bigpete » 13 May 2021, 8:10 pm

womble wrote:This in the Yarra valley last week. Def not a dog.

Image


Not a cat either.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by animalpest » 13 May 2021, 8:17 pm

Not a cat. Skidded in the mud so is longer than it should be. A single track can be confused with lots of things especially when there is no comparison to size
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by Blr243 » 13 May 2021, 8:43 pm

It would not surprise me if some pranksters ran about the bush tracks with home made fake prints On a stick, jamming them into the mud in places bushwalkers frequent , some people have too much time on their hands. I’m probably partially guilty of same because I just thought of this idea ...there is an app u can buy in America. It’s specifically designed to help you generate fake pictures of Bigfoot.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by animalpest » 13 May 2021, 9:32 pm

Haha. Once found a proponent of the cougar (an old farmer) with a rake in his ute while in the bush. Putting scratch marks on trees?
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by womble » 14 May 2021, 3:56 am

animalpest wrote:Not a cat. Skidded in the mud so is longer than it should be. A single track can be confused with lots of things especially when there is no comparison to size


Yes there is. There’s a leaf for scale.
Where’s the number for that other pest controller.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by womble » 14 May 2021, 4:17 am

I hope i don’t have gorillas, they’ll eat everything.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by Die Judicii » 14 May 2021, 11:53 am

womble wrote:I hope i don’t have gorillas, they’ll eat everything.


You need to contact that sheila in "Cold Case"

She could conjure up a vision from the recent past and show you just what made that print in the mud. :thumbsup:
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by Gamerancher » 14 May 2021, 12:16 pm

Kangaroo front paw print, only thing I can think of, unless it's a Koala with a deformed front paw???? ( 5 digits means it 'aint a cat or dog)
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by duncan61 » 16 May 2021, 11:25 am

I have had 2 encounters with a large black cat when culling kangaroos near the coastal town of Binningup.The first sighting was in an onion patch and what ever I dropped had to be hand collected back to the vehicle as the onions were all in rows that the tractor could span but not a normal car.I was half way out to collect a roo and I felt I was not alone so I panned the torch around and here is this big black cat looking at me about 100 metres away.The second sighting I had my buddy and his son and we picked up green eyes on the far side of the paddock up a steep slope.While watching it it went down the slope.Cows have green eyes under torch light but they bob up and down when moving this thing just slid down.I shot a small roo soon after but we were on a track and it was on the other side of the fence.I could see it flopping around a bit so I took my single shot hornet to terminate and jumped the fence.When I got back to the car the windows were up and it was locked.Apparently just before I shot the roo with the hornet this black cat materialised behind me but disappeared as soon as I shot the roo.A few times out that area I have sensed I am not alone and do all my proccessing with my back facing a big paddock and the hornet in reach.We stalked a forest in that area once during a wet day and found a 20 Kg roo about 40 feet of the ground draped across a branch.I have found sheep carrcasses that are very clean and one half will be gone like it was sliced.Dogs are very messy and will spread stuff everywhere.They call it the Binningup panther but it is just a domestic cat gone wild.It has pointy ears and most big cats have round ears.Alledgedly cats can grow back to huge sizes in 3 generations.There is probably more than one
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by womble » 16 May 2021, 4:32 pm

Oh that is a good story and well done.
The roo carcass 40 feet up a tree was my favourite part :thumbsup:
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by duncan61 » 16 May 2021, 4:41 pm

I sense you are mocking me however where the roo carcass was up the tree it stunk of urine as well.There were 3 of us all exmilitary with .243W each.I can not speak for the others but I was nervous till we got back out to more open country.I called a bloke called Micheal Williams and he sent me a DVD of big cat footage.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by Bill » 16 May 2021, 4:42 pm

Carnivorous Humungus Possumus :lol: :drinks:
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by womble » 16 May 2021, 5:02 pm

I’m not mocking you. Just enjoyed the story. It rules out anything but panther.
Real or not i know not. It’s possible.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by duncan61 » 16 May 2021, 8:58 pm

On the DVD it shows hunters bringing in shot big cats and the official response is it must of been a pet.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by animalpest » 16 May 2021, 10:44 pm

The leaves in the picture do not give scale. Sorry Womble
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by animalpest » 16 May 2021, 10:48 pm

So how does one determine that a roo carcass 40 feet up a tree smells of urine?
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by ZaineB » 16 May 2021, 10:52 pm

wanneroo wrote:In terms of the cougars/mountain lions in the Americas, there are not any black cats despite much mythology around them.

Has Australia ever allowed them to be imported as pets?

A male cougar can get up close to 200 pounds.



american post war ship mascots were released in WA in the 40s. whether they were capable of breeding or not who knows.
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Re: Puma sighted in the Mitta Mitta

Post by ZaineB » 16 May 2021, 10:54 pm

on_one_wheel wrote:
wanneroo wrote:In terms of the cougars/mountain lions in the Americas, there are not any black cats despite much mythology around them.

Has Australia ever allowed them to be imported as pets?

A male cougar can get up close to 200 pounds.


I've seen black domestic cats in Australia but can't recall seeing any feral ones, it seems tabby is the dominant gene.



ive shot a few black feral cats, well really when it comes to ferals around here I have shot probably a few of each colour/pattern really, gingers, tortoise shell type brindle, white, black, grey, grey tabby, patchy, and even a yellow looking one with minimal stripes. out desert I have seen mostly blotchy and darker tabbies.
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