Sightings common, evidence elusive (via Paul Cropper)

Sightings common, evidence elusive
28 April 2010
Free Press Leader

THE big cat theory is one that is common throughout Victoria, with about 400 reported sightings in the past five years.

Some believe the creatures are offspring of black panthers brought over by US soldiers during World War II as mascots that escaped into the bush. Others think they may be an unidentified Australian predatory cat.
Many discount the big cat theory entirely, claiming the creatures could simply be feral cats or black wallabies.
But Don Valley's Janet Bligh said she believed there were black panthers living in the bush in the Yarra Ranges.

Mrs Bligh said she recently saw a large black animal walking near her property.

``I definitely would say that it was a panther it's black, it struts, and it has a long tail and a curved back, she said.
Janet's husband Andrew also saw the beast, but believed it was more marsupial than feline. Mr Bligh said the animal was the size of a large rottweiler. He said all four shoulders were the same height and it glided along the roadside. The Blighs sightings has inspired one of their distant relatives to camp in Don Valley to try and capture the beast on film.