Nexus - 0605 - New Times Magazine-pages

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not walk or even glance along the track but instead move: through dense vegetation while travelling down the slope. The ecologist had not observed the figure, even though it was moving towards the hide. It was a great mystery to me as to the identification of a human- like figure, swinging its arms and paying no attention to the trac! that it was crossing, especially as we never encountered anyone else. Even after hearing the subsequent calls, it did not occur to me at the time that the figure I had observed may have been responsible for the calls. I had read newspaper articles of Yetis and Bigfoot in the northern hemisphere, but had never heard o: unknown primate bipeds in this part of the world. not walk or even glance along the track but instead move: nal silence was broken by the occasional backfire of a car travel- through dense vegetation while travelling down the slope. The ling down the mountainside, a tree falling in the rainforest or the ecologist had not observed the figure, even though it was moving mail plane travelling overhead. Two of the dingoes were approxi- towards the hide. mately 80 metres to one side of the mysterious animal and the It was a great mystery to me as to the identification of a human- third was howling at a similar distance on the opposite side. The like figure, swinging its arms and paying no attention to the trac! sound of these four animals in full cry was the most remarkable that it was crossing, especially as we never encountered anyone natural sound I have ever heard. Even more important, though, else. Even after hearing the subsequent calls, it did not occur to was that I was able to judge accurately the call of the unknown me at the time that the figure I had observed may have been animal over the calls of the dingoes that I regularly heard. responsible for the calls. I had read newspaper articles of Yetis The call of the Yowie—if that's what it was, for I could equally and Bigfoot in the northern hemisphere, but had never heard of refer to it as a Bunyip—was at least twice as loud and much more unknown primate bipeds in this part of the world. powerful than the dingoes', and after their howling finished the Yowie continued its repetitive bellowing for perhaps another t was not until I returned to Australia that I first read about minute. Then only the sound of Curtis Falls, Cedar Creek and the [er and I was particularly interested in a close encounter _ chirping of the crickets remained. in early 1978 in Springbrook, southeastern Queensland, by a That experience proved to me that there was indeed a very large National Parks and Wildlife Services ranger. The witness was a and powerful animal dwelling in the locality—no matter how work colleague of a naturalist friend of mine who was able to implausible it seemed. It also provided an answer to a couple of relate to me a detailed description. the mysteries that I had pondered for some time. A bipedal, gorilla-like primate, standing 2.5 metres high, with a The first was a local mystery surrounding an unknown carni- distinctive odour, a grunting voice, a body covered in long black vore that was preying on rednecked pademelons (small wallabies) hair, a flat and shiny black face, large yellow eyes, a sagittal crest, that had always been common on the mountain, where they fed on and huge hand, was clearly observed lawns adjacent to rainforest. Our in Antarctic beech rainforest at 2 pm neighbour at the time, Frank Field, is in good light from a distance of four a retired jackeroo, drover, tracker, metres. Several other previous sight- naturalist and farmer. On several ings on the same mountain and in occasions in 1976 he had encountered surrounding districts were reported in I could clearly hear the calls kill sites on an adjacent property local newspapers. being pumped out of a massive where pademelons had been attacked. I found these reports extremely dif- He would find traces of fur and scuff ficult to believe because I had spent chest, and they sounded more marks on the ground and then several years studying the flora and fauna in like th ll of i rim metres away the entrails of the walla- the forests of southeast Queensland, I € the call 0 a b g p ate by, torn from the body and left on the had read widely on historical and nat- than anything else. grass and leaf litter. The intestines would trail back towards the forest, as if the animal had been gutted while being carried away. ural history subjects, and had neither suspected nor found any trace that would lead me to conclude that such a remarkable animal could be inhabit- "It definitely wasn't a dingo, which ing the district. Even more difficult I spent years hunting when on the to explain was the fact that an unknown primate was definitely land. It was as if the predator had simply lifted the wallaby off not an expected member of the Australian faunal assemblage. A the ground each time, and carried its prey instead of dragging it deep channel of open ocean, known as the Wallace Line, has off and leaving traces on the ground as a dingo always does. I always divided the fauna of Southeast Asia and Australia. This have no idea what animal would be powerful enough to carry a explains why Asian monkeys, apes, squirrels, cats, deers, rhinos wallaby away and rip its intestines out as it went," he told me. and elephants, to name just a few, were never able to cross over to Having spent years searching for physical traces of wildlife this continent. Only humans and their pet dingoes in water craft behaviour so as to identify what species were in a locality, I knew were successful in undertaking such a hazardous journey. that an unknown herbivore would have left traces of vegetation Then, on 21 June 1978 at 3 am, on a very quiet night with a full disturbance while feeding, and large, distinctive faeces. However, moon, I was awakened by a very powerful, continuously repeated if the Yowie were a nocturnal carnivore that remained hidden dur- roaring, bellowing call emanating from lowland subtropical rain- ing the day and carried larger prey items to secluded locations forest in Joalah National Park on Tamborine Mountain, 300 where it would feed and defecate, it would be unlikely for evi- metres from our house, at an altitude of 500 metres. The call was dence of its activities to be noticed. similar to those that I'd heard in Papua New Guinea, though the The second mystery occurred in 1971 when I was working as a animal was much closer and the call was therefore even more National Parks ranger at Green Mountains in Lamington National powerful. It was a deep-throated, booming "yee-yee-yee-yee-yee" Park. One Saturday night, the officer at the ranger's office and that continued without a break for five minutes, and so was much residence was startled to hear a series of heavy thumps on the out- longer than the calls that I had heard in Papua New Guinea. I side wall. When he got to a window and yelled out to whoever could clearly hear the calls being pumped out of a massive chest, was outside to identify themselves, another noisy commotion and they sounded more like the call of a big primate than anything began beneath the house. He was amazed to see large numbers of else. It was much more powerful than the roaring-grunting of a heavy working tools, shovels, hoes, rakes, axes and brush-hooks, koala or even the bellowing of cattle. used in the maintenance of the walking tracks and stored under After approximately two minutes, three dingoes broke into their _ the house, flung with great force onto the back lawn. The sound characteristic howling, as they regularly did whenever the noctur- of heavy grunts amongst the crash of tools terrified him and, | could clearly hear the calls being pumped out of a massive chest, and they sounded more like the call of a big primate than anything else. 68 = NEXUS AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1999