Sinister sightings in Canterbury?

Please don't worry, I haven't decided to blog Sheep worrying, not yet anyway!

No, something far more amusing has registered on my radar recently. Just two weeks ago the national programme reported that yet another unidentified large cat has been spotted in the Ashburton district. I'm not talking a cat that has had too many dinners either. Apparently the sighting confirmed what many others have claimed. There is a big, black cat that looks like a Panther living between Timaru and Christchurch! On further investigation it turns out that there have been a dozen or so similar sightings in the last 10 years. Curiosity significantly aroused I perused the Internet and found some quite interesting reads on the Mysterious New Zealand and Ashburton Guardian sites.

While I am a big sceptic and love nothing more than a good conspiracy theory, I would still like to interview some of the people involved. I'm willing to bet that the really large Feral Cats roaming the district are being mistaken for something slightly more sinister. Though, these 7-10kg monsters wreak havoc on endangered species in these parts and really should be taken notice of. From my research thus far I have taken an interest in making a film based on the enemy that stalks the critically endangered Otago Skinks and Black Stilts (Kaki). With GPS research assisting mammal predator control teams, increasing numbers of monster moggies are being hauled in, full to the gills on rabbits, birds and skinks.

Its about time we paid as much attention to the menace stalking our countryside as we do to supposed sightings of exotic cats. Could it be that we don't consider feral cats a problem because they are quite similar to the their cuddly cousins that hog our sofas?