New High-Tech Search For Thylacine, Large Cats After Recent Sheep Maulings

Australia’s most prominent Tasmanian tiger and puma photographic hunter will visit Mount Gambier to set up high-tech infrared camera equipment, following a spate of recent large cat sightings and unexplained attacks on sheep in the region.

Glenburnie resident Russell Smith told The Border Watch yesterday that sheep in the Glenburnie area had been “torn to pieces by animals more powerful than foxes”.

“There is something prowling around the area and I am worried about my dogs,” Mr Smith said.

He believed sheep were being attacked by large unexplained animals, not foxes or domestic dogs.

“Foxes just usually tear out the neck - these sheep are being mauled,” Mr Smith said.

Meanwhile, Victorian searcher Michael Moss - who has launched the most extensive hunt for pumas and Tasmania’s tigers in mainland Australia’s history - said yesterday there was growing evidence of thylacines and large cats living in the South East of South Australia.

“They are definitely out there,” said Mr Moss, who had spent more than 10 years searching bushland for the elusive animals, particularly the highly sought after Tasmanian tiger.

He believed the numbers of large cats - most likely pumas - were increasing in Victoria and spilling into the South East of South Australia, particularly around bushland near the Glenelg River.

His comments follow a string of big cat sightings from the Victorian border to Penola earlier this month, which made news headlines across Australia.

Despite some sceptics in the community, Mr Moss argued documents released under the Freedom of Information Act showed the South Australian Government had never undertaken an extensive survey of these animals in the South East.

“These pumas can be very large and are a threat to people walking in the bush. If people come across one they should never turn their back and run, but they should stand their ground and shout,” Mr Moss said.

He believed these pumas had been responsible for the disappearance of lone bush walkers in Victoria.

According to the Lower South East National Parks and Wildlife this week, there have been no sightings of thylacines recorded in the Mount Gambier district “for a couple of years”.

Witness reports

The Border Watch this week spoke to a number of residents in the region, who believe they have seen a Tasmanian tiger over the past 20 years.

Mumbanna farmer Yvonne Hines said her sighting 16 years ago was still vivid in her mind.

“I know what I saw - I am absolutely convinced it was a Tasmanian tiger,” Mrs Hines said.

“What really struck me was the animal’s hindquarters - they were so different.”

She recalled the night when she was driving along the Princes Highway between Mumbanna and Mount Gambier, about 7.30pm.

“I saw something up ahead. At first I thought it was a kangaroo, but when I got closer I thought it was a fox, then I thought that’s not a fox - there’s no bushy tail,” Mrs Hines said.

“I saw the back hindquarters - they really struck me, along with the striped markings on the animal.

“I have been travelling on country roads for a long time - I know what I saw.”

She said when she told her family of her unusual sighting “they just laughed” at her.

Meanwhile, Glenburnie resident Joan Smith said she saw a Tasmanian tiger near the Mount Gambier Racecourse about five years ago.

“It was crossing the road. It had a long tail, stripes and a puggy face - it was too big to be a fox,” Mrs Smith said.

Mumbanna resident - who did not wished to be named - also told of a similar tale.

He said he saw the side profile of the animal on the side of the road for about “10 to 15 seconds”.

“At first I thought it was a kangaroo, then I saw these bright blue eyes reflecting,” the eyewitness said.

“I then thought it was a fox, but when I got closer it was too big to be a fox. It was shaped a bit like a greyhound and it had a very large chest.”

He said he was fascinated by local sightings after his eye-witness account.

“I feel very fortunate to have made a sighting,” the resident said.

Meanwhile, he said he had also seen “big dog-like prints” in the soil around the Victorian Border several years ago.

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New High-Tech Search For Thylacine, Large Cats After Recent Sheep Maulings
New High-Tech Search For Thylacine, Large Cats After Recent Sheep Maulings