Macarthur Panther: Are we really seeing large feral cats?

A Bradbury resident left his camera out for two months. What he found may be the reason we hear of so many panther sightings.

IT SEEMS everyone in the region at least knows someone who will swear blind they have seen the notorious, elusive ‘Macarthur Panther’.

But there is every chance what our storyteller friends have seen is simply a large feral cat.

Bradbury resident Alan Skeoch photographed a large feral cat in Dharawal National Park, near Wedderburn, saying people may mistake the huge feline for the panther.

Mr Skeoch tied a camera with a motion sensor to a tree and left it for two months.

“There were a lot of cats, some pretty big and others smaller, and foxes,” he said.

“I was getting 50 per cent native animals and 50 per cent feral animals being captured which is really sad.”

He estimated the cat to be about 60cm high, considerably bigger than a domestic cat.

Animal expert and associate professor at the University of Sydney, Camden, David Phalen said there was a good chance some panther sighting claims in the area had been a result of a feral cat.

“It’s definitely a possibility,” he said.

“Some swamp wallabies have large tails and I think if people are seeing the back end of one in the dark, they might confuse it for a cat-like creature also.”

Cryptozoologist Rex Gilroy in Appin with paw print castings in 2007. Picture: Ian Svegovic

Dr Phalen said feral cats could get larger than domestic felines simply due to natural selection at play.

“There’s no question there is a selection for bigger cats,” he said.

“The bigger a cat is, the more likely it is to survive in the wild and catch prey which means it is more likely to be successful at breeding.”

He said other factors such as the animals feral cats eat and their movements probably didn’t have as much of an impact.

“I think it’s got to be genetic,” he said.

Dr Phalen said the issue of feral cats was “variable” in the Macarthur region.

A panther in the wild.

“The impact they have on the environment is definitely not good ... they have contributed to the extinction and reduction in numbers of a lot of smaller species,” he said.

“I really encourage people not to let their cats out during the day or night and not to dump kittens. Take them to a shelter if you need to.”

National Parks Association Macarthur branch member Julie Sheppard said she was concerned about the issue in our area.

“Feral cats are a huge problem. I’ve seen them myself and they are absolutely huge,” she said.

“I’m not surprised to hear so many feral animals were captured on camera.”