The Centre for Fortean Zoology was founded in the UK in 1992 - nearly 20 years ago. Over the past two decades it has expanded to become a truly global organisation. We opened our American office in 2001, or Australian office in 2009, and now - in our 19th year - we are proud to welcome CFZ New Zealand to the CFZ global family.

Friday 19 August 2011

Is this a UFO? An Unidentified Feline Object?


A 3News television film crew sent to record a weather story in the back blocks of North Canterbury about recent snowfalls got more than they bargained for when they filmed a cat - a BIG cat - running across a snowy paddock.

"That's not a f****** cat - that's huge!" exclaimed one of the witnesses, a television cameraman.

"It was a cat the size of a German Shepherd!"

Pawprints the trio later found in the snow measured 10cm in circumference.

The local zoo Orana Park dismissed the footage as domestic cat - but the witnesses say if that's the case, it's one monster moggy!

The mid-Canterbury area is well known for its big cat sightings and was the setting for Prints of Darkness, a documentary about New Zealand's big cats by New Zealanders Mark Orton and Pip Walls.

The area also featured in Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers by Michael Williams and Rebecca Lang, which includes a chapter about New Zealand's big cats.

You can view the footage here:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Canterburys-big-cat---real-or-myth/tabid/367/articleID/222632/Default.aspx








2 comments:

  1. Several of the reports of unknown big cats in Australia, and even some of the recovered bodies of such-turn out to be exactly what you stated: "A domestic (house) cat run wild the size of a german shepard, one monster moggy"

    Evidently the genetics of an ordinary cat include the innate capability to grow up to such a huge size in the lack of any naturally-present competition in the area.

    Best Wishes, Dale D.

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  2. Indeed Dale, indeed. We certainly found many cases of 'monster moggies' while writing our book Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers (the Kurt Engel case is perhaps the best known) - but strangely many people don't seem to think this fact on its own has any significance.

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