Camera crew on hunt
BOBCAT urine, thermal imaging drones and motion activated camera traps are being used by Geelong filmmakers to finally capture proof of Victoria’s legendary big cats. Robot Army Productions has joined with a team of big cat researchers to produce a documentary of the team’s attempt to finally prove the presence of big cats in Australia, titled The Hunt. The documentary will follow long-time Victorian big cat researchers Simon Townsend and John Turner along with expert Vaughan King — a former big cat handler at Australia Zoo — for the next six months, having already spent 18 months filming.
Director Stu Ross said the team may have already uncovered some exciting DNA evidence — but was waiting on test results.
“It’s something we really can’t talk about right now … we’re just in the process of getting it all tested and hopefully confirming what we believe it is to be,” Mr Ross said. “It’s going to be much more conclusive proof.” “Even although it’s great, it’s only one part of the puzzle really.”
Mr Ross said The Hunt would try to help get to the bottom of one of Australia’s biggest mysteries.
“Big cats in the bush are often dismissed as an urban myth,” he said. “In the film, via the painstaking and committed efforts of our researchers, we have an opportunity to document the emergence of such a myth into the light of scientific observation.
“The latest evidence gathering techniques including top of the line technology in motion activated camera traps and thermal drones are bringing us closer than ever to finally busting this myth.”
Mr King, who relocated his family from Queensland to Colac to spend time searching Victoria for big cats, said he believed they were out there somewhere.
“I have to remain pretty firmly on the fence about it, because I get so many reports that aren’t big cats, I get so many footprints sent through and photos of black animals, and most of the time they’re not big cats, they’re just large feral cats,” Mr King said.
“(But) I’m definitely more in the mindset that there are big cats out there, definitely. We’re trying to crack the mystery once and for all.”
The filmmakers and researchers are urging Australians to report any big cat sightings to bigcats.com.au, to be immediately investigated by the team.