The Blue Mountains Panther is a legendary exotic big cat that has been reported by residents of the Blue Mountains area, west of Sydney, New South Wales for over a century..
Credit: Alison Mills In a review of "large free-ranging felines in New South Wales", a New Zealand-based invasive species expert, John Parkes, said …
FOR years there have been reports of a black panther in the Blue Mountains. "Just because it's folklore doesn't mean it isn't true.
"It's definitely out there and it definitely exists," he told Nine.com.au.Like most locals from Katoomba, Mr Bryant had heard stories about the legendary panther but had never seen it himself.The day he stumbled on the prints, he and three fellow explorers had taken a journey out to one of the more remote locations in the Mountains. On one occasion in Kenthurst, NSW, a young boy was badly scratched by a large cat outside his home.
The database has been used extensively by the State Government to investigate the phenomena, and has been utilised by the media.
It was very clear no one had been out there. "The group documented their discovery and sought expert advice by contacting the Australian Hunting Association who allegedly confirmed the print was from a non-native big cat.Nine.com contacted the Australian Hunting Association however they declined to comment.These sightings are hardly a new phenomenon, in fact the latest evidence is part of a long legacy dating back almost 200 years.Author and researcher, David Waldron, has spent years tracing through government records to better understand the history of big cat folk law.Mr Waldron said the stories of big cats in the Blue Mountains mirror similar folk laws in communities and states around Australia and their history is long and complex. The Blue Mountains panther is thought to be a localised variant of the similar Gippsland phantom cat.
Get the best stories in the world all in one place with Disney+Cash Rate Cut: Are You Getting The Best Home Loan Deal? Grant Denyer continues his search for the Blue Mountains black panther on his property – and shares video evidence of bones in a wombat hole By Kristy Johnson and Kylie Walters For Daily Mail Australia Published: 16:24 BST, 17 June 2020 | Updated: 16:24 BST, 17 June 2020 He’s on a … "It was definitely around the size of what I would say is a panther. Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article For decades, sightings of a giant and mysterious black cat have been reported by residents from Lithgow to Penrith, adding to the long and prevailing myth of the Blue Mountains panther. "Nine.com.au contacted the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) in relation to the new footprints. On the Hunt for the Blue Mountains Panther. 69 likes.
Yet another alternative theory concerning the cat's origins relates to the now-closed African Lion Safari park, which was located at Warragamba.
But one resident now says he has caught the big cat on film. In the latter case the remains have allegedly been found high in the fork of trees, well above the level of flood waters, or in areas not affected by flooding at all, suggesting that they were dragged there by a large, powerful predator.
The big cat is back. Proof of the panther's existence is largely limited to eyewitness encounters, combined with such circumstantial evidence as large feline-type scratches found high on trees, and the carcasses of sheep and cattle supposedly killed by it.
Picture: Supplied.
"I've never seen anything like that. A Blue Mountains resident has shared an image of a hand-sized paw print and I'm pretty certain this is the work of the Lithgow panther.
Sightings of the "panther" have been reported in this area, leading some to conclude that a big cat or cats may have escaped from the park before it was closed down, or during the removal of animals. It is speculated that the creature (or more probably, creatures), if it exists, may be the offspring of animals that escaped into the wilderness from travelling circuses in the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries.