Elusive big cat seen in Lilydale on Maroondah Hwy near Mooroolbark Road
For years there have been sightings of big cats across the Yarra Ranges, with some believing they are modern day ancestors of panthers or pumas brought here by US troops in World War II. And this latest one has everyone talking again.
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Another big cat has been spotted lurking in the Yarra Ranges, but not in the remote bush, this was much closer to Lilydale.
It’s the most recent sighting of the elusive predator, but this time the feline was described as the size of a border collie and looked like a bobcat.
Lilydale & Yarra Valley Leader has provided ongoing coverage of big cat sightings for a decade (see below for sighting dates).
Many people believe the enduring mystery of the big cat, black panther or puma stems back to when US soldiers were posted to Aussie shores during World War II and allegedly bought the predators in as troop mascots, which they later released into the wild.
Spotted a big cat? Tell us where and when in the comments, or email us here
The latest person to see a big cat was Bayside man Sean Miljoen who said he was driving along the Maroondah Highway near Mooroolbark Rd when he thought he saw a fox crossing the road about 11.15am on Friday.
Mr Miljoen said he was on the phone to his partner at the time and joked that it was a chupacabra – a mythical South American creature.
But as he got closer he noticed the creature was not a fox.
“I pulled over to the side of the road where it had crossed and the animal was near a line of trees,” Mr Miljoen said.
“As my car stopped it turned and looked around at me and it was a huge cat.”
He said as the car stopped the animal — only 100m away — turned and looked around at him.
Mr Miljoen said his partner urged him to get a photograph, but by the time he got out of the car and tried to capture it, he only managed to photograph the long grass.
“It was too big to be a feral cat,” he said.
“It’s tail was really long and sticking straight out.
“It looked like it had the head of a bobcat. It was dark brown with black around the eyes.”
He said the giant cat was as big as a border collie.
“We have a border collie dog at home and I estimate it was about his size,” Mr Miljoen said.
“It was dark in colour and it’s head reminded me of an American bobcat.”
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RECENT BIG CAT SIGHTINGS
2000: Don Valley
January, 2001: Large paw prints in mud at Glenfern Rd, Upwey
June, 2004: Large paw prints at Warburton East
2005: Cockatoo, Lorne
January 28, 2008: Mt Dandenong
March 24, 2008: Warburton
August 15, 2008: Montrose
August 28, 2009: Warburton
November 27 2009: Healesville
2010: Don Valley, Otways
February, 2012: Seville
May, 2012: Warrandyte State Park
May, 2012: Seville
September, 2013 : Ferntree Gully
March, 2015: Grampians
December, 2016: Toolangi
December 20, 2016: Rowville
April, 2017: Warburton East
April 2017: West Gippsland
November, 2018: Healesville
March, 2020: Lilydale