Australian Big Cats: Large Feral Cats or Actual Big Cats?

[@NEWPAAEC]

Humanzee

[@LaughingStockReal]

Humanzee

[@america2793]

Humanzee

[@zentriffid]

The tails on big cats are much longer and more distinctive than feral cats. I have a number of photos of very clear paw prints from the southwest of WA which I came across in the early morning which have been positively identified as either panther or leopard prints.

[@andrewchalmers7422]

Yes all the bullshit scientists have no idea what they are talking about because THEY have not seen what we have

[@Richard-gy1pq]

Same! Sighted and got pics of print's from Melbourne in a park.

[@keza3250]

Seen a black panther twice now once on my way to Armidale with my brother it was just inside a farmers paddock and was about ten to twenty feet from some cattle just watching them We both seen it Second time was out bush at ebor gem fossicking , got back to the car after fossicking all day out bush an it was just lying in front of a large boulder outcrop just looking at us, as we got closer it ran behind the boulders Black panther's are real think what you want people but me an my brother have seen one twice now, the local legend of the Guyra panther is real folks

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

Personally, I very much believe in the big cats of Australia, so it's nice to see people sharing their own reports on my videos. Thanks.

[@You_TroII]

What kind of Big Cat did it most resemble? The typical black panther (leopard) or a cougar? Here in the US theres claims of a black cougar but we all know none have been caught being all black.

[@keza3250]

​@@You_TroIIJust replied but typed in the comments section though I was replying to your comment 😅

[@andrewchalmers7422]

Tall like a Doberman tail as long as it's body and jet black. Yeah mate they are panthers

[@keza3250]

​@@andrewchalmers7422have you seen one up close we definitely have black panthers in northern NSW Just go out deep bush in northern NSW you will see a lot of wildlife That the federal government an park's an wildlife will tell you is extinct or doesn't exist in Australia

[@GEK0dev]

THEY ARENT CATS THEY ARE HAIRY LIZARDS I SWEAR

[@billykebabs81]

If you've ever gone hunting way out west (as I have), the feral cats are effing huge! They're not Panthers, they've simply evolved over almost 200 years with no real predators and a smorgasbord of feed. They are actually quite devastating to the natural environment. Just to give you an example I'm a touch over 6'1" and when holding out one of these with my arm outstretched, one of these beasts stretch to the ground (including the tail), but believe me it was huge, and I've heard of much bigger.

[@dryciderz]

Kurt Angle is a hell of a wrestler

[@Shillabritish]

So they're big but they're not big cats ok

[@RasheedMichael5]

I hope you are a female

[@BeamRider100]

There's big cats too.

[@Richard-gy1pq]

No big cat's here too!

[@fasteddie9201]

All I'm going to say is when you see one no matter what anyone tries to convince you it was you know what ut was and what it wasn't. Feral shmeral, no feral cat gets that size and changes it's body and head shape to look completely different to little puss.

[@andrewchalmers7422]

The panther is a completely different animal to a large feral cat. And anyone who has seen one knows that. However scientists who believe in fictitious climate change bullshit do not believe ordinary people can tell a panther from a large mogy

[@andrewchalmers7422]

I must interrupt to tell you no matter what science explains about Australian panthers being none existing. Anyone who has seen a panther in Victorian high country as l have knows very well that it was a panther not a feral cat. The give away is the tail is as long as the body. Have a look at British pet panthers and your going to see the panthers that ARE in Victorian high country. That is the cat that I have seen

[@almac9203]

​@@andrewchalmers7422panthers refer to leopards or Jaguars. There is no such thing as black cougars or pumas so how are people seeing these black cougars?

[@hainleysimpson1507]

You severely undersetinate gow fadt animals can evolve. Evolution has bo tinetable. By your logic modern humans, who have grwon as much a six inches taller compared to centuries ago, are an entirely different species. Since modern humans are bigger fstter snd heavier than people centuries ago and are shaped differently in a few bidy parts, therefore must be ve a different species.​@@andrewchalmers7422

[@Richard-gy1pq]

​@almac9203 I've seen tan colour one's too.

[@BeamRider100]

Big cats are different proportions to a house cat gone feral, as well as much larger. For proportions, much more muscular, longer tail and tail not as fluffed out.

[@brutalisplays]

We need to get the fire arm numbers up!! Also. With the increase in size of the feral cats in Australia, and the lack of real competition (besides dingos, and large goannas). If they’re not eradicated, could these cats reach bobcat, lynx or small mountain lion sizes on a regular basis in a few hundred years? 🤔

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

Probably, but if ABCs actually exist, they'll probably put up some competition.

[@Richard-gy1pq]

We already got bigger than puma here!

[@eliletts8149]

I will say that there are a surprising amount of people who do live in countries in which native megafaunal feline species exist that cannot tell the difference between a domestic/feral cat and a puma, leopard, or jaguar at a few dozen yards/meters though.

[@tyrannotherium7873]

3:50 big Tom, probably the size of a bobcat

[@keza3250]

I'd say probably a black leopard, The ones my brother an I saw were about knee high an close to two metres from head to tail Wasnt super solid but was knee height or over was a big cat for sure, we were about only 15 metres from the one near the boulder outcrop it was not a feral cat Personally I think leopards got to Australia during the last ice age from Indonesia when sea levels were alot lower an Australia an Indonesia were connected I'd say there probably a small javan or sumatran leopards that's black in colour Locally farmers an bushmen have reported seeing black Panthers around my home town of Guyra for over a hundred years, personally me an my brother didn't believe it but we do now after seeing two at close range A couple of years ago out gem fossicking we found a big cat print out in the swamp bigger than a mans hand an took a picture of it Were a bit more careful out bush now that's for sure

[@You_TroII]

Wow thats amazing! And you could be right it could be some type of leopard. I remember a while back there was this documentary about the Zanzibar leopard I believe and people thought they were extinct since no one seen one in years until the documentary crew caught one on camera proving they still existed. It had become fully elusive to evade humans. Thank you for your reply!

[@Sthuont]

No. Learn about the Wallace Line. Your hypothesis is ridiculous.

[@keza3250]

@@Sthuont have you seen a black panther in the bush or actually live in Australia my brother an I have seen one twice now out Bush fossicking were we live in Australia

[@Sthuont]

@@keza3250 I'm Australian, and no I've never seen any wild big cats here. I'm not even questioning whether there are wild big cats here or not, I think if there have been records of them being introduced and released then there's no reason to believe they couldn't persist and reproduce, or alternatively feral cats going through rapid phenotypic change allowing occupation of wide open niches in the ecosystem after the megafauna extinctions here is also very plausible. What I'm arguing against is your suggestion that big cats naturally dispersed to Australia from Sundaland. There is a very sharp and distinct biogeographic barrier called the Wallace Line that has kept Indo-Malayan fauna and Australian fauna largely apart. There's even a buffer zone called Wallacea and a second biogeographic barrier called the Lydekker Line that further separates any faunal dispersion from reaching Australia-New Guinea. Natural dispersion from Java or Bali or Borneo is near impossible with the current geography.

[@keza3250]

@@Sthuont still doesn't mean they didn't get here one way or another seen 2 of them out bush, an we don't know for certain if the sahul landmass was connected or wasn't to sunda landmass when sea levels were atleast 300 to 400 feet lower than today There are plenty of Australian related fauna and flora that occurs outside the Wallace line from suluwasie to Borneo like gum trees certain possums and much more, But who's to say that PANTHER'S weren't kept by Asian fishermen as pets and released in Australia a thousand years ago or by the usa service men in ww2, Or even by colonial Australian settlers But they are definitely in the Bush

[@kt-pai]

In 1999 I saw a black big cat in Otago NZ. I was hanging out nappies and this was so unbelievable that I ran inside to make sure I had another witness, bc who would believe it?! It was stalking sheep in lambing season. Of course anyone would be skeptical. But I know what I saw. Then about 2 dozen lamb died of fright(worrying them) on the farm. There have been scat tested confirmed & other sightings including photos in NZ. Also am sure a couple at Otago university wrote a dissertation or thesis bc of all these reports. How exciting to see so many unexplained phenomena.

[@JonDeth]

I saw a massive black panther 28 years ago just south of the shore of Lake Erie Ohio, and my mother tried to argue with me except now over the last near 30 years, other people have spotted them too! I have to wonder if they're from feral house cats breeding back to their natural size as science has proven is what in fact occurs, not the other way around. Considering the area, all black would be the most likely to survive unseen the longest to go from pet to panther over a few decades with the way they breed.

[@dryciderz]

Just call it twitter. No preface needed.

[@Loreweavver]

I'm fairly certain that out of place cats are the explanation for most cryptids.

[@robertmitchell1920]

An nicely detailed video. There is some good print evidence of some sort of thylacoleo that pops up, but there is probably 100 big cat sightings to every thylacoleo. Some are reported as black though, so it may be possible to confuse them. They also recovered leopard DNA from one kill in the 1980s, and had scat full of puma hair sent to them by a farmer.

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

I plan to cover the Thylacoleo theory at some point, but from what I've read the Thylacoleo reports appear to definitely be a minority, and I personally believe they are a seperate animal from the big cats reported.

[@rodcooper763]

Thank you for the clarification about Townsend and Chapple.

[@zalired8925]

My neighbour and I watched a black jaguar circling sheep on my old property back in early 2000's. We watched it for long enough from close enough with the sheep (wether marino's, pretty large sheep) right beside ut for size scale to know what it was and what it wasn't. Long story short my neighbour talked after agreeing not to to save our reputation stories came out of the woodwork saying yeh we seen it but didn't want to say anything and eventually I ended up having a random conversation with some bloke in the pub while I was up at Whyalla working when the drought killed things for a while who mentioned iut if the blue how he was bitten on the arm by a black jaguar at the animal park ge worked at. He stuck his arm in to scratch its chin when before putting it's feed through the feed gap. Was always just a big friendly pussycat who was everyone's favourite and after all appeals failed at saving it from being put down it suddenly 'dissapeared one night'. Coincidentally not long after a black panther had been seen by workers and property owners feeding on roos that had been shot and left, dead sheep etc and never once showed any aggression. Seemed quite friendly one farmer said.

[@danstevens2204]

The rifle in the second rifle/cat photo is a ruger m77, they were manufactured with barrels from 22-24 inches.

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

Thanks.

[@NatureEnjoyer523]

19:33 I just had the craziest concept, the Dingo Fence was actually build to keep ABCs away. I'm obviously not saying this is true, just something my mind came up with.

[@jbsports3422]

Are you interested in photos of tracks (11cm across), scat (foot long) and damage to livestock? I'm a hunter, and was called to a property after a vet attended a number of horses injured by a cat. I hunted it for months before finally sighting it, but I didn't get the shot opportunity. It was just under 2m long, and about 600mm high. The tail was over a meter long. There were at least two other confirmed sightings at the time: 2018.

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

Interesting. Which state did this happen in?

[@keithprice475]

The correct question is: 'Large feral cats, actual big cats or large supposed to be extinct marsupials that look a lot like big cats?'

[@chrisbirt1667]

At 12:30 question.if the bulk of sightings,gun numbers and hunter theory was relevant wouldn’t it be bodies and not sightings being used as data, the sightings are from average people drinking their morning coffee

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

Fair point. From what I've read, most hunters or farmers who've tried shooting these animals usually end up being unsuccessful, although it begs the question how many successful cases are unreported. Stuff like that makes me understand why some don't believe big cats roam Australia.

[@tadblackington1676]

Not all big cats are Big Cats (subfamily pantherinae). Cheetahs and mountain lions are big Small Cats (subfamily felinae). So in the right circumstance little purring cats can evolve into apex predators.

[@CrocodylusCarcharias]

I want to see a Australian pantheran/cougar try throw hands with a yowie and bunyip

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

That'd definitely be something to see.

[@rodcooper763]

Calvin, great effort. Thanks for taking the time to actually do some research and acknowledge the research of others. Are you familiar with the work of Simon Townsend and a Mr Chapel, who's first name escapes me ATM? They have done years of research. I'm sure they would be interested in talking with you. Victorian big cat society is the name of their organisation.

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

@@rodcooper763 Thank you. I am aware of Townsend, and have his book "Snarls from the Tea-tree". I think you might be confusing Peter Chapple with someone else, because Chapple died in 2003(?) and started the organization ARFRA. Big Cats Victoria was founded by Townsend however.

[@rodcooper763]

Yes that is both people. Have you had a sighting? I'd be really interested in your story. I've had activity here where I live for the past three years.

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

@@rodcooper763 At the moment, I haven't had my own personal sighting. I just prefer to be on the analytical side of things I hear in cryptozoology. A lot of stuff I see online is either full-on believer or full-on sceptic. Hardly any in-between. Sometimes the truth is in the middle. Some sightings can be put down as big cats, others ferals, is the way I see it, compared to others who think of it as black or white, where only one is the true answer. Perhaps its a little of both.

[@malligrub2516]

Feral cats can get to 5 feet long and 10-15kg with much larger shoulders and forequarters. A black cat like that in good sunlight - they'd look life a buff big cat. People also generally have no idea what a big cat's morphology looks like compared to a feral felis catus. Most people can't even tell the difference between leopards, jaguars and cheetahs. Even this video shows a slide comparing jaguars, leopards, pumas and cats - and uses 2 pictures of leopards instead of a jaguar😂. Every time one of these "panther" vids is released and someone is so adamant about a panther - it's so obviously just a big feral cat

[@NatureEnjoyer523]

The jaguar picture is of a jaguar, the head is too round to be a leopard.

[@NatureEnjoyer523]

1: A feral cat usually doesn't get much bigger than a housecat, which is about 3-4 kg. (Source: PestSmart) 2: I don't think thats how light works. 3: In general, yes. But the argument works because that allot of people own cats, I would be able to reconsize something that isn't a house cat. 4: It is a jaguar.

[@NatureEnjoyer523]

@user-gs3tq6bx2u ' I expect a sudden rise in sightings lol' How Earth does that work?

[@Goldenhawk583]

@@NatureEnjoyer523 The australian feral cat population is growing larger, it has been confirmed that weights between 10 and 15 kg is no longer uncommon. Why? Because these are not citydwelling ferlas, eating trash, but living in the bish, hunting to stay alive, and it makes sense that they frow larger in order to better hunt larger prey. Also, Aistralia is not the only place this has happened, there is an island ( I dont recall the name), where there are no humans anymore, but lots of birds and sheep. these cats are growung larger as well. Evolving fast.

[@NatureEnjoyer523]

@@Goldenhawk583 Source?

[@Goldenhawk583]

If they are not known to the original population.. the cats today are feral cats growung big because they MUST hunt.

[@Staceyoz]

Can you do a video on different skulls of big cats/ domestic cat/ panthers etc maybe put a kangaroo skull in there for reference as see them all the time 😊

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

@@Staceyoz no promises, but its added to the list.

[@alibarber57]

I saw a black leopard in the hills in Victoria on two occasions...not a feral cat and I still have the plaster casts of its paw prints...4 inches

[@almac9203]

Are you sure it wasn't just a big feral cat?

[@alibarber57]

@almac9203 No it wasn't a feral cat..it was a black leopard...no two ways about it

[@hainleysimpson1507]

Leopards aren't solid black. They still have spots. Also have you bever heard of a maine coon? Maine coons get to the same size as the cats you have seen and the image in the video.​@@alibarber57

[@keithprice475]

I don't think you have given sufficient attention to the thylacoleo hypothesis. There are also good sightings - some very close - of creatures that can scarcely be anything else than thylacoleonids. Dennis Wright's little book 'Thylacoleo Lives' would be a good place to start. It seems to me quite possible that some or many sightings - especially at some distance - could be of these, since there are cases of a closer look giving a realisation that the animal was NOT any kind of cat. Dennis' first sighting - down his rifle sight, was one such. AND they are often jet black, with no spots under the colouration like black panthers.

[@AezlyndWanderin]

Some people like owning things that are rare and things that are illegal. Melanistic members of the panthera genus definitely meet both of those criteria in Australia. These people are irresponsible and don’t care about anyone but themselves. So when the cute little cub gets out of hand or they get wind of the authorities coming to investigate they take the animal out to the brush and abandon it. All it takes then is for a male and female of the same species to get together and you’ve got the start of an endemic of big cats. People here in the US illegally obtaining big cats is enough of a problem that there are even large rescue centers to keep the ones that manage to be seized or surrendered by their owners and many of them are reaching capacity. I wasn’t able to find evidence of any such sanctuaries in Australia but just because you don’t have the solution doesn’t mean you don’t have the problem. My refutation against them being house cats that were brought to Australia and evolved is that 1) the largest domestic cat breeds are floofs and the sightings are of short haired cats and 2) I’m sorry but evolution doesn’t happen that fast without help from humans and if someone in the cat breeding community was breeding cats for size they would want to be public with it both for notoriety and for money. There is the possibility of these cats being the result of a crossbreeding experiment that went wrong and escaped but again the breeder would most likely be looking for fame and fortune and would have gone public with their project long ago.

[@NatureEnjoyer523]

14:04 Plot twist: you saw an ABC

[@RenoReborn]

A private individual has to pay to submit a Guinness World Record, there are doubtless bigger House Cats but no one's willing to pay the extortionate fee to get it submitted. Guinness is basically just a PR firm, you pay them to get your brand out there into the public consciousness, hence why most of the Records are held by Companies, Celebrities and other public personalities.

[@danstevens2204]

There’s big ones and big ones. Oldmates name is Geoff same pronunciation as Jeff.

[@zakkmarchant]

0:39 is it me or does that look like some species of yak or cow 22:33 also bloopers

[@danthewatcher9681]

My friend I will tell you your logic about the Big Cat Breeder is faulty, and I can give you a IRL example, there is avideo still on youtuve posted some 12 or 13 years ago, back in prehistoric times, Called something along the lines of " caught Chupacabra". The animal in Question is a Raccoon suffering from scabies, bald as all hell, To this day people are unable to tell it is a raccoon, even though many claimed they had at least seen one in their back yard and some they raised raccoons! What I am getting at is credentials SHOULD mean people know what they are talking about, most times these days they don't, it used to be most times they do back in the day, nowadays credentials are not worth much unless lived experiences are added!

[@shanepope1000]

You are not referencing the gold rush where large cats were brought over by US Gold miners

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

@@shanepope1000 I am aware of claims US and Chinese gold miners bringing big cats to the country. Just didn't think of them at the time of writing this video.

[@shanepope1000]

@@CalvinTheCarnotaurus are you aware of the NSW Government conducting a parliamentary inquiry in the early 2000’s and in the conclusion it outlined there was evidence that a breeding population of large Cats was in the Country and the two events of significance were the Gold rush and later the US Military who were not allowed to return home after WW2 with their unit Mascots some of which were large cats.

[@CalvinTheCarnotaurus]

@@shanepope1000 Not sure I believe that. According to Mike Williams there is literally zero evidence for mascots. At best only a few testimonies. Gold rush to my knowledge is also rumours. Williams and others prefer theories like circus or private zoo escapes.

[@shanepope1000]

@@CalvinTheCarnotaurus private Zoo is something I did hear of this years ago as well, some of the submissions to the Upper house enquiry included photos of animal carcasses 5+ Metres up trees typical of large cat. We did in the ancient past have Marsupial lions so thousands of years ago there would have been Kangaroo and wallabies dragged vertical too.

[@jfh667]

The lack of a body after so many years is evidence in itself.

[@猿合奏会]

ＡＢＣ、ＡＢＣア～い～気持～ち～

[@Richard-gy1pq]

There's certainty more than 1 species of big cats also ferral cats Australia wide.