Cougars in Western Australia

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The premise that there were cougars in Western Australia was widely believed during the 1970s.

There were two theories as to how they were introduced. The most popular theory was that United States servicemen brought four cougar kittens to Western Australia during World War II; they eventually grew too big for captivity, and were released, two at Fremantle and two at Bunbury. The other theory is that cougars escaped from a circus that was involved in an accident between Bridgetown and Nannup around 1961. This latter theory was often used in support of the allegation that cougars were responsible for the deaths of around 2000 sheep in the Duranillin area in the late 1970s.^[1]

These various theories received much attention in 1979, including numerous media mentions, and a debate on the issue in parliament. That year, the Agricultural Protection Board of Western Australia declared that a two year investigation had failed to find any evidence to suggest that cougars had ever been introduced into south-west Western Australia. Nonetheless in 1981 an AU$20,000 reward was offered for the capture of a cougar in Western Australia, dead or alive. The reward was never claimed.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• McGeough, P. "Farmers plan cougar hunt for next sighting", The West Australian, 1979-03-28. 
• Pash, B. "MPs to debate cat mystery", Sunday Times, 1979-04-21. 
• Zekulich, M. "A.P.B.: There is no evidence of cougars in W.A.", West Australian, 1979-08-01. 
• Anonymous. "U.S. soldiers brough cats here — claim", Sunday Independent, 1981-08-30.