Urban Legend Black Panther sightings

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eaglespremiers

eaglespremiers

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It's always fascinated me the level of "confirmed sightings" we've had over the years of a black panther (and in various parts of Australia).
I know this phenomenon is not unique to Australia but I had always dismissed these claims for lack of a viable explanation as to how they could possible be roaming the Australian bushland.

There was an article today, however, that contained footage from Sydney that, while not absolutely compelling, is the most verifiable proof we've had that there could possibly be black panthers on the loose (of course this should be treated with a healthy degree of scepticism).
But what do you make of the footage? Is it doctored in some way? Is there a perspective distortion that means it is just a large domestic cat moving like a panthera? Or is this indeed a panther and, if so, what suitable explanation would exist for the conditions to allow a panther colony to survive?
https://www.news.com.au/technology/...e/news-story/0d046d80d3b0e764c21a287a3ef061b9
 
My family and I saw a black cat big as a panther as we were winding our way home up and over the top of Mt Macedon in Victoria a long time ago. We lived up there and had some strange things happen. Koalas can make really weird noises but what we heard was cat. Our horses freaked out late one night, it seemed to come out of nowhere, the banging of stamping and kicking in the stables, hooves pounding in the paddocks around the house their whinnies were so furious they were screaming. All I could see it was so dark was shapes moving so fast, flashes of mane and hooves too high.

We're running around all over wondering wtf was gong on, they were so loud the neighbours in the valley below heard it and came up in their cars. As soon as the headlights turned into the driveway at the top, it stopped.

One of the horses had kicked his way out of the stables and gone into the fray. We were pretty sure it was the big cat come for the foal and our horses went nuts.
 

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eaglespremiers said:
It's always fascinated me the level of "confirmed sightings" we've had over the years of a black panther (and in various parts of Australia).
I know this phenomenon is not unique to Australia but I had always dismissed these claims for lack of a viable explanation as to how they could possible be roaming the Australian bushland.

There was an article today, however, that contained footage from Sydney that, while not absolutely compelling, is the most verifiable proof we've had that there could possibly be black panthers on the loose (of course this should be treated with a healthy degree of scepticism).
But what do you make of the footage? Is it doctored in some way? Is there a perspective distortion that means it is just a large domestic cat moving like a panthera? Or is this indeed a panther and, if so, what suitable explanation would exist for the conditions to allow a panther colony to survive?
https://www.news.com.au/technology/...e/news-story/0d046d80d3b0e764c21a287a3ef061b9
Click to expand...
These big cats as pictured here are solitary animals in the wild and with a sufficient food supply can live for many decades.
The big question is how are they breeding. The answer may be that in fact they are some sort of sub-species of the domesticated cat. What we do know though, given the right environmental conditions evolution will prevail.
 
Present Not Past said:
With the demise of the Tasmanian Tiger on the Australian continent there was a vacancy for a medium sized predator. Looks like nature has provided one. Nature always finds a way.
Click to expand...

I'm sure they're out there, I didn't see the thing it was so dark with hardly any moon the night the horses went beserk but in all the noise I did hear something that was big cat, scared me because i assumed at the time it was one of the horses, injured maybe.

We had a miniature pony who'd just foaled, tiny little thing he was only as big as a medium sized dog and still a bit wobbly. It came for him I think.
 
Kurve said:
I'm sure they're out there, I didn't see the thing it was so dark with hardly any moon the night the horses went beserk but in all the noise I did hear something that was big cat, scared me because i assumed at the time it was one of the horses, injured maybe.

We had a miniature pony who'd just foaled, tiny little thing he was only as big as a medium sized dog and still a bit wobbly. It came for him I think.
Click to expand...
I have no doubt myself. But some people will not believe it until they see one for themselves, and sometimes not even then.
 
Present Not Past said:
I have no doubt myself. But some people will not believe it until they see one for themselves, and sometimes not even then.
Click to expand...

It was so unusual and high end a couple of the neighbours older sons stayed over, one perched with a gun in the top of the stables in the hay. So I guess they were witnesses of a kind.
 
They look like black panthers for sure. No doubt a private collector accidentally let it get free. Happens all over the world. Apparently NZ has some, photos look very similar
 
If they are here, surely we’d be seeing and hearing reports of livestock killed very regularly. And the one apparently sighted in North Sydney, what would that be feeding on? It’s also the issue of breeding. There would have had to have been a few released somehow after the war, or, historically in Australia are they part of our fauna?

Interesting, as some of these videos and images look very real.
 
demondavey said:
If they are here, surely we’d be seeing and hearing reports of livestock killed very regularly. And the one apparently sighted in North Sydney, what would that be feeding on? It’s also the issue of breeding. There would have had to have been a few released somehow after the war, or, historically in Australia are they part of our fauna?

Interesting, as some of these videos and images look very real.
Click to expand...
I’m convinced that these big cats we see are merely mutations emerging out of the vast population of feral cats in Australia
There’s adequate food for them, a vast population and no natural predators.
When we see a big cat we are actually seeing the feline equivalent of an Aaron Sandilands.
 
Present Not Past said:
I’m convinced that these big cats we see are merely mutations emerging out of the vast population of feral cats in Australia
There’s adequate food for them, a vast population and no natural predators.
When we see a big cat we are actually seeing the feline equivalent of an Aaron Sandilands.
Click to expand...


In 2005 a guy from Melbourne called Kurt Engel (? maybe ?) shot a big black cat. There are photos of the animal after he shot it and its huge. I dunno how it compares to an actual panther but if you got in a fight with it you'd lose. Its measurements are estimated to have been four foot from nose to the base of its tail and closer to six feet with the tail.

They sent away samples and had them DNA tested. Turned out it was a massive domestic feral cat.

If you want to search you will see photos of it hanging up after it had been shot.
 

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ferball said:
In 2005 a guy from Melbourne called Kurt Engel (? maybe ?) shot a big black cat. There are photos of the animal after he shot it and its huge. I dunno how it compares to an actual panther but if you got in a fight with it you'd lose. Its measurements are estimated to have been four foot from nose to the base of its tail and closer to six feet with the tail.

They sent away samples and had them DNA tested. Turned out it was a massive domestic feral cat.

If you want to search you will see photos of it hanging up after it had been shot.
Click to expand...
Yeah saw that. Somewhere in Gippsland? Was hanging up on his porch. Enormous.
 
demondavey said:
Yeah saw that. Somewhere in Gippsland? Was hanging up on his porch. Enormous.
Click to expand...
Is this it? Hard to believe a regular cat can grow that big! Humans just become rotund from over eating :$

iu
 
Werewolf said:
Is this it? Hard to believe a regular cat can grow that big! Humans just become rotund from over eating :$

iu
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure that's it.
 
My year 8 and 9 Maths teacher swears to god he saw one twice. In the late 70s and early 80s when he was on camping trips in the Grampians (Gariwerd) with his wife (who was also a teacher) - they had no kids at the time.
 
It's funny when people say Panther.

I mean do they think it's a leopard or a jaguar?

Then some people say it's a Puma, but they aren't black.

The folklore tale is American servicemen left behind some Pumas.

So why would black cats be mentioned if they let Pumas run free?

Easy to see how myths come to be and keep on keeping on.
 
UK

Canada

New Zealand

Ireland

Spain

Italy

Basically, we may as well give up. Its pretty clear that black panthers are just going to spread out across the world and completely take over.

It's ludicrous. The 'US servicemen in WW2' story - the US soldiers came by boat - somehow they kept a Black Panther (well, at least 2 of them, since they must have bred in Australia), alive, fed and cared for on a trans-pacific voyage, no one took a photograph of it, no one saw it beiong unloaded on the docks or at the camps during the 3-4 years they were in Australia.
Or maybe they came by plane, and Macarthur had them in his office (very high security there - easy to keep secrets like a giant black wild animal).
 
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Wallaby said:
UK

Canada

New Zealand

Ireland

Spain

Italy

Basically, we may as well give up. Its pretty clear that black panthers are just going to spread out across the world and completely take over.

It's ludicrous. The 'US servicemen in WW2' story - the US soldiers came by boat - somehow they kept a Black Panther (well, at least 2 of them, since they must have bred in Australia), alive, fed and cared for on a trans-pacific voyage, no one took a photograph of it, no one saw it beiong unloaded on the docks or at the camps during the 3-4 years they were in Australia.
Or maybe they came by plane, and Macarthur had them in his office (very high security there - easy to keep secrets like a giant black wild animal).
Click to expand...


Pumas.

lion-on-the-rock-NPS.jpg

So not even black.
 

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Urban Legend Black Panther sightings

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