Big cat mystery: ‘very disheartening’ new sighting in Canterbury’s Hanmer Springs

There has been another sighting of a ‘big cat’ in Canterbury, this time in Hanmer Springs.

Over the years, big cat sightings have been reported in Canterbury, Otago, Southland and Marlborough and in North Canterbury in the past month.

Mark Orr was mountain biking through Hanmer Forest Park in Hanmer Springs on Sunday with another person when he spotted the animal.

“We had to pick up our bikes and lift them over a fallen tree. That’s when we saw [the cat] about 50 meters ahead. “

Orr said the animal turned to look at them before turning and heading deeper into the forest.

“He looked very strong and was quite chubby. He just had an aura. When he looked at us, we could barely see his face because it was jet black.”

Orr said he is convinced the animal was not a dog.

“It was definitely not a dog and I had never seen such a big cat. It was about knee height.”

After seeing the animal, the pair decided to back away quickly without wanting to get any closer.

“It was very far away at the time, but it was still very overwhelming.”

There has been a resurgence in reported sightings of big black cats in recent months.

A sighting was reported at the Halswell quarry last month, followed by another in the Heathcote Valley.

In recent decades, various reasons have been given to explain why or how the big cat is in Canterbury.

After a sighting in Christchurch, an older man recalled an incident from when he was working in the Lyttelton harbor during World War I.

In 1915 a ship from America was being unloaded. On board the ship there was a shipment of animals bound for Australia.

One of the cages was accidentally broken, allowing its occupant, a pregnant cougar, to escape. He was last seen running towards Port Hills.

Officials apparently made few attempts to catch the cat and it seems likely that no search was conducted.

An up-close sighting of a large cat by Kaiapoi resident Frances Clark made national headlines in July 1977.

It was thought that a tiger could have escaped from the Orana Wildlife Park in nearby Harewood, or from the circus that had been in the area a week earlier.

The search found no traces and all the zoo and circus cats were counted.

Other New Zealand Animal Mysteries:

• Moose in Fiordland. The last proven sighting was in 1952, but that hasn’t stopped believers. Hair found in the area returned from DNA testing in 2002 was confirmed to have come from an elk

• South Island Kōkako. A $ 10,000 bounty remains unclaimed after three years, with no confirmation from the songbird that was declared extinct in 2008. More than 200 possible encounters have been reported, but the bird known as the ‘Gray Ghost’ remains elusive.

• Moa. The search for the long-necked bird still continues to this day after several sightings over the years. One location they are found is believed to be a remote bush at the north end of Hawke’s Bay after some 35 footprints were found in the ground ten years ago.