The premise that there were cougars in Western Australia was widely believed during the 1970s.
There are several 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. Another theory is that cougars escaped from a traveling circus that was involved in an accident between Bridgetown and Nannup around 1961. The circus theory has often been referenced to support the allegation that cougars were responsible for the deaths of around 2000 sheep in the Duranillin area in the late 1970s. [1]
The State Library of Western Australia's catalogue refers to the cougar story as the Cordering cougar, [2] while the oral history record has a summary with the spelling Coedering Cougars. [a] The concern about wild cats in the rural areas of Western Australia has extended over decades. [4] [5] [6]
The theories about larger cats received significant attention in 1979, including numerous media mentions, and during a debate on the issue in the 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 A$20,000 reward was offered for the capture of a cougar in Western Australia, dead or alive. The reward was never claimed. [1] In 2018 further sightings were reported at Chidlow in the Perth Hills, and near Morangup on Toodyay Road. [7]
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The cougar, also known as the panther, mountain lion, catamount and puma, is a large cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild, terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most widespread in the world. Its range spans the Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta provinces of Canada, the Rocky Mountains and areas in the western United States. Further south, its range extends through Mexico to the Amazon Rainforest and the southern Andes Mountains in Patagonia. It is an adaptable generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking but also lives in open areas.
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Boyup Brook is a town in the south-west of Western Australia, 269 kilometres (167 mi) south-southeast of Perth and 31 kilometres (19 mi) northeast of Bridgetown. The town lies on Kaniyang land within the Noongar nation.
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The Feral Brewing Company is a brewery in the Swan Valley, Western Australia.
The eastern cougar or eastern puma is a subspecies designation proposed in 1946 for cougar populations in eastern North America. The subspecies as described in 1946 was declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011. However, the 1946 taxonomy is now in question. The Canadian Wildlife Service has taken no position on the taxonomy. Cougars are currently common in western North America and may be expanding their range. Individuals are occasionally seen as vagrants in eastern North America.
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