Does a mysterious big cat roam the Douglas Shire backcountry?
BIG CAT
The long-held fun theory of mysterious big cats purportedly roaming the backcountry of the Douglas Shire has resurfaced.
Discussion around the mysterious visitors comes on the back of an alleged, but unconfirmed recent sighting of a large cat like figure in the Douglas region.
Another account of the creature was told to Newsport five years ago.
On January 12, 2018 that year a local woman was driving to Port Douglas from Cairns at around 6.30pm along the Captain Cook Highway when she claimed she witnessed “‘a large tawny brown feline shape” that illuminated in her headlights on the side of the road.
“It was almost as large as the street marker that it was next to,” Rosie Wang recalled at the time.
“Certainly, I have never seen a domestic cat that big, or indeed with light brown colouring more like a lion.”
Further, unconfirmed big cat sightings over the years have been reported in Ravenshoe, the upper Barron and Daintree areas.
The theory that big cats roam the rainforests of Far North Queensland and bushland of other parts of the country isn’t as far fetched as it first may seem.
History books suggest US soldiers released ‘exotic, big cats’ into parts of Australia during WW2 as corroborated theories concluded they were considered or thought of as ‘mascots’ at the time.
Upon the American soldiers departure from Australia it’s understood they simply left the cats to roam free.
Have you potentially spotted a mysterious big cat roaming the Douglas Shire?
Tell us in the comments.
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