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JESSE FEARY
Jesse Feary will not go back to hunting possums only after shooting what he thinks is a big cat.
The long-standing debate over the presence of big cats on the South Island has been rekindled after two new sightings.
In the most recent case, a northern Canterbury possum hunter has vowed not to go into the bush alone after encountering a big cat.
The mysterious animals, said to be similar to cougars or panthers, have been seen in Canterbury, Otago, and Marlborough for more than 50 years.
Grainy photos have emerged of the beasts roaming the countryside, while hunters say they have killed wild cats that are much larger than domestic species.
READ MORE:
* Two sightings in a week put Canterbury’s big cats back in the spotlight
* ‘I know what I saw’: woman claims ‘big cat’ is loose in South Marlborough
* The Black Panther of Mid Canterbury sighted again
One of the first sightings was in 1962 when a man said he saw a cougar in Cromwell Gorge, while in 1977 Christchurch police received a report of a tiger on a suburban street in Kaiapoi.
A search was organized and, although the animal was not found, large paw prints were discovered on nearby Pines Beach.
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A Department of Conservation photo of a dead feral cat in front of a Labrador. The DOC says the heaviest catch was 7 kg.
More sightings were made at the mouth of the Ashburton River and around Clearwater Lake in 1992 and near Twizel in 1996.
In the 2000s, big cats were seen near Alford Forest, in the Ashburton Gorge, in the Mayfield foothills and near the Fairton meat factory.
Then, in 2013, a Timaru man “had the scare of his life” when he saw a large panther-like animal on State Highway 8 near Fairlie.
The delivery driver said he saw a meter-long beast, which he described as black and with a “deep, throaty growl.”
Subsequent reports placed the animal in the Hakataramea Valley in 2006 and near Burkes Pass in 2019.
There are numerous theories as to how big cats may have come to reside on the South Island.
One is that pet cougars were brought to New Zealand by California gold miners in the 1860s.
Another suggests that a pregnant cougar was being transported from the United States to Australia in 1915, when it escaped from a freighter at Lyttleton and fled to Port Hills.
The animals could also have escaped from a traveling circus.
Joseph Johnson / Stuff
The Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch has been home to lions and tigers since it opened in 1976.
Despite the reports, no evidence has ever surfaced proving the existence of big wild cats.
Biosecurity New Zealand conducted a search in 2006, but experts found no evidence, while in 2013, the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) said there were no big cats in the region.
Christchurch’s Orana Wildlife Park, the only open-range zoo in the country, currently houses lions and cheetahs.
Spokesman Nathan Hawke said they have been contacted about wild big cats for many years and would welcome new evidence to solve the mystery once and for all.
“We are not aware of any history of cats escaping from New Zealand zoos and establishing a wild population, [though] That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, ”he said.
“Also, we do not know of any species that have been kept in New Zealand zoos that fit the description of this animal.”
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The Christchurch Zoo has received numerous calls about big cats, says spokesman Nathan Hawke.
Another possibility is that the big cats seen in the Southern Islands are descended from pets.
Wild cats are widespread in parts of New Zealand and can be destructive to native birds and lizards.
In March, a feral cat with 17 complete native skinks, and parts of several others, was found in its stomach.
Orana Wildlife Trust has launched an online survey to assess attitudes towards cats and their property.
