Nexus - 0208 - New Times Magazine-pages

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— MYSTERY LIONS IN THE GLUE MOUNTAINS | By Rex Gilroy cries of stock, awoke the family from sleep on their iso- lated Kanimbla Valley farm. The farmer looked at his alarm clock. The time was 3am. O= night in 1975, eerie roaring sounds and the frantic By Rex Gilroy The horses, cattle and fowls were obviously disturbed by something, and the family's two cattle dogs, kept in the house that night, were already barking furiously to get out the back door. DOES AUSTRALIA HARBOUR A __ YET 'UNDISCOVERED' SPECIES OF MOUNTAIN LION? OFF ALL THE STRANGE CREATURES REPORTED, - _ SIGHTINGS OF LARGE CAT LIKE | CREATURES ARETHEMOST PERSISTENT AND ONE OF THE MOST PUZZLING. The farmer, thinking dingos were attacking his fowls, let the dogs out whilst at the same time, grabbing his rifle and torch. As his wife and children looked on, the pyjama-clad farmer flashed his torch about the back yard pens and stables, but saw nothing. The dogs however, appeared to be pursuing some- thing up in the nearby mountain scrub. They returned later that day, one of them seriously wounded by what appeared to be a large scratch. Nothing more could be done in the darkness, so the family all retired to an uneasy sleep. At first light however, the farmer dressed and went to inspect the stock. Up in a nearby paddock he found one of his cows - dead and horribly mutilated, - a few dead sheep also torn up - and large paw prints in nearby soil. What had killed the animals? Neighbouring property owners were called to inspect the dead stock and fresh tracks. They were convinced that one of the notorious mystery “Blue Mountains’ Lions” was once again on the prow! in the area. The remote vastness of the rugged Blue Mountains, west of Sydney has always been a land of mystery, since long before the first white men ever set foot there. For here dwelt the hairy man-beast, the Yowie, the equally terrifying "Jogungs", a race of giant-size man-like beings who wandered the mountains killing and eating Aborigines with their big stone clubs; as well as a whole menagerie of other "“bunyips". Yet of all the mystery creatures that haunt the Blue Mountains (other than the Yowies and Jogungs), none were more certain to strike terror in people's minds than the large, ferocious, hairy, lion-like animals, claimed to be roaming the remote valleys and forests. Called 'rock dogs’ or 'Warrigals' by the former Blue Mountains Aboriginal tribes, the monsters were described as being from 2 to 2.3m in length and around 1m tall when stand- Rex Gilroy welcomes any helpful information on these, or any other mystery Australian animals to assist his research. He can be contacted by phone on (067) 78 7201, or by writing to him at PO Box 473, Kootingal, NSW 2352. NEXUS¢25 JUNE-JULY 1992