Forget UFO sightings in Victorian skies, here’s where black ‘panthers’ have been spotted on the ground

Victorians claim to have seen panthers in locations from Ballarat to Gippsland, the Otways, Mornington Peninsula and Grampians — with reports they are on the prowl this winter.

Claims of panther sightings are being made “every couple of weeks” across Victoria this winter, according to a big cat researcher.

Simon Townsend from Big Cats Victoria — who has been investigating possible black panther sightings in the state since 1973 — said big cat reports were being made regularly.

“Every couple of weeks you get a sighting report that’s got some real value. In other words, the people reporting seem to know what they’re talking about and the description of the circumstances make sense,” he said, adding most reports related to sightings on grazing land that had heavy tree cover nearby.

Sightings in Victoria were more common in winter because farm stock were weaker and easier for prey to catch, pull down and kill, Mr Townsend said.

Most reports came from South Gippsland, the Otway Ranges, the Central Highlands area to the north of Ballarat and the Grampians, he said.

Big Cats Victoria's Simon Townsend and partner John Turner look for evidence of panthers roaming the state. Picture: Alison Wynd

However, there had also been big cat reports from the Yarra Ranges, the Mornington Peninsula and many other Victorian regions including the Bellarine Peninsula and You Yangs near Geelong.

Mr Townsend said his first big cat sighting was near Warburton, after reports were made by timber workers in the area.

“I will stand by that sighting (as being of a panther) until till I die,” he said.

“Since then, I’ve been pretty much hot on the trail and I’ve been to places where there’s been stock freshly killed … the killing tends to be by crushing the windpipe or spine in the neck, and quite often there are quite strong, canine teeth impressions.

“Going for the throat is a real feline characteristic, a big cat thing. When dogs or foxes attempt to kill something, they tend to run beside it and bite its flanks, not go for the throat.”

A 2012 Victorian government report declared the existence of big cats like panthers or pumas in the state “highly unlikely”, with wildlife experts saying sightings were probably of huge, black feral cats.

Night vision of what could be a panther wading in water in West Gippsland, taken in August 2016. Picture: Supplied

A woman found prints believed to be that of a large cat like a panther in the Mornington Peninsula National Park near Blairgowrie. Picture: Supplied

But “panther sightings” have nevertheless abounded over the years, with multiple theories on how the big cats would have wound up roaming the Victorian bush and farmland.

Mr Townsend said one theory was there were “intentional releases” of panthers over the years,

“The other — which has got a lot of credibility — is menagerie escapees.

“In the 19th century menageries with travelling circuses were extremely popular, so there were quite a lot of animals in transit around the country at any given time,” he said.

Another theory is the animals are the offspring of black panthers that were brought out to Australia as mascots by US soldiers during World War II and released into the bush.

There is also a theory that a Monbulk man who owned a miniature zoo about 30 years ago released his animals into the bush when the zoo was closed.

BIG CAT CLAIMS

Yarra Junction – 2022

A large black cat resembling a panther was spotted in Yarra Junction.

Canberra man Arvind Reddy claimed to have spotted a big “jet black” cat at a 16ha retreat in Yarra Junction.

“I was strolling through the property … and suddenly spotted a giant black animal that looked like a very big cat,” he said.

“It ran away into the bushes within a second. I could see within that time frame it had a catlike face, big black body and a long black tale.”

Mr Reddy had his phone in his pocket so wasn’t unable to capture the creature on camera.

“I just stayed still and didn’t move – it was actually scary to see something like that,” he said.

“Thankfully it did not attack me which I assume is their natural tendency.

“I come from India where I have heard stories of black panthers attacking humans.”

Bacchus Marsh – 2022

In a video posted to TikTok, Shamis Borge questioned whether a “panther in Bacchus Marsh” had been spotted.

In the video a large black cat strolls across a field, set to the theme tune of the Pink Panther. Most commenters were quick to rubbish the possibility of a panther, with one suggesting it was a well-known local feral cat.

“Yep that’s Freddy the Bacchus Marsh local feral,” user XL posted. “He a big boy, been getting about the area for about 10 year now … locals have seen him snacking on Roos.”

Tootgarook – 2021

An image of an unidentified animal lurking near the Tootgarook wetlands on the Mornington Peninsula was posted to a popular Facebook group.

The Mornington Peninsula big cat. Photo: Michael Coor

Michael Corr snapped what he thought was “the biggest feral cat I have ever seen or possibly something else’’ on Thursday, January 14.

He shared it online and within hours hundreds had commented, some claiming it was further proof that big cats were roaming the peninsula and others declaring it another case of mistaken identity.

‘Finally a decent photo of the elusive panther!” Matt Reeves posted.

Others were not so easily swayed.

One of the earliest sightings of supposed panthers on the Mornington Peninsula was about 35 years ago at Arthurs Seat.

More recently a photo of a “pantheresque” shape near the Mornington Peninsula freeway went viral in 2018. That image was debunked by a 14 year-old-girl who took the original photo and said it had been photoshopped by an unknown prankster.

Lilydale – 2020

Bayside man Sean Miljoen said he was on the phone to his partner when he noticed a “huge cat” that looked like a panther cross the road in front of him, on the Maroondah Hwy near Mooroolbark Road.

By the time he had pulled over to take a photo the animal was gone.

The Otways – 2020

Professional wildlife photographer Amber O’Meara Noseda was driving home after visiting Mount Sabine in the Otways when she came lens-to-face with what she believed was a big cat while looking for a particular bird to photograph.

The big cat snapped by Amber Noseda in the Otways. Picture: Amber Noseda

There was a big cat sighting by Portland plumber Bob McPherson near Casterton. Picture: Supplied

“It was just about 4pm and it was getting dark and I wasn’t having much luck,” she said, describing seeing something strange in her rear-view mirror.

“I thought it was a wallaby on the side of the road, about 50m away from where I was. Then I looked again and thought wallabies aren’t black.

“I thought maybe it was a small labrador dog. I’ve got a telephoto lens so I grabbed it out of the car. It was walking across the road and I thought it was the biggest black cat I’d ever seen. It was certainly not the size of a normal, domesticated cat. The shape of the tail and the shape of the face doesn’t indicate it’s just a domestic cat.”

A local fireman Noel Myers, who previously dismissed stories of big cats, also reported an encounter in the Otways, on the road between Lavers Hill and Johanna in 2003.

“At first I saw this large animal crossing the road in the headlights,” Mr Myers said.

“There was a really high cutting, so it was kind of trapped. It was still running along the road, it just turned and hissed at us.”

Geelong region and south west – 2004

Multiple people reported seeing a big cat at Marengo, near Apollo Bay.

Sightings of a black cat, resembling a panther, have also made in Aireys Inlet, the Lorne catchment and Portland.

Originally published as Forget UFO sightings in Victorian skies, here’s where black ‘panthers’ have been spotted on the ground