Backpacker shocked at big cat sighting in Gympie

Could the big cat sighting be real? One man says he saw the big black cat in Gympie on Saturday night.

PANTHER SIGHTING: Rhys Linton and his friend were driving from the Gold Coast to Glenwood when they spotted a big black cat between Chatsworth and Curra. Please note, this is not the actual photo of the panther sighted on Saturday night. Picture: Contributed

HAS Gympie's legendary black panther been found?

Rhys Linton believes he came across the legendary panther in Chatsworth on Saturday night.

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Mr Linton was driving from the Gold Coast to Glenwood at about 6pm when he decided to stop at Coles in Gympie.

A very large black cat caught on camera at a Miva property earlier this year, an animal which Wendy Elsley said could be mistaken by some to be a black panther. Picture: Contributed

He got back into the car and had made it between Chatsworth and Curra when all of a sudden he sighted "something black in the grass on the hill.”

"I joked to my friend and said there's a panther, and she laughed and said there isn't any panthers in Australia and then it lifted its head up on and I was like 'oh my god I don't know if it's a panther or a big black cat,” he said.

"It looked like it was lying down, eating.”

Mr Linton said immediately afterwards he google searched 'big black cats in Australia' and came across an article in Miva and Glenwood.

"It was only then that I knew I was correct and I had seen the black panther,” he said.

No photos were taken, but Mr Linton said he'll keep an eye out for the next one.

This year there have been several black panther sightings from Miva, Kybong, Glenwood and Pomona to name a few.

A very large black cat caught on camera at a Miva property earlier this year, an animal which Wendy Elsley said could be mistaken by some to be a black panther. Picture: Contributed

In early June Kybong's Adam Whitehouse was attacked by a big black cat when he stepped onto his veranda for a smoke.

A fortnight later Glenwood resident James Fowler said he came outside when he heard his dog madly barking, only to come face-to-face with a cat he described as 1.25m long.

In fact, it was a terrifying and unbelievable few minutes that left him bloodied, bruised and in complete shock.

About to let his pet cat Billy inside, it inexplicably flew near him when he stepped outside.

Then seconds later, a monstrous cat emerged, cornering his nine-month-old pet.

Pure black, with sleek, shiny fur, the unidentified feline was as a big as a small cattle dog and growling a frightening warning, Mr Whitehouse said.

"It was the biggest cat I've ever seen,” he said.

"The size dumbfounded me.”

A fortnight later Glenwood resident James Fowler said he came outside when he heard his dog madly barking, only to come face-to-face with a cat he described as 1.25m long.

"Big cat” chaser Vaughan King, founder of the Australian Big Cat Research Group website pantherpeople.com, who named Gympie a hotspot of "big cat” activity after several sightings, said in the past that feral cats can get up to 20kg.

He said big cats begin at 50kg, which he believes include black leopards and black jaguars that exist in the Gympie region.

On average, a big cat sighting has been reported every day in Australia over the past two years.

If you have spotted a big black cat recently, please let us know.