NEWS
Bowen lion theory has gone to the dogs
This feline's footprint is a whopping 11cm long and was discovered by workers in a small gully near Mt Luse, north of Abbot Point.
THE mystery “cat” stalking Bowen is actually a dog, according to experts.
Juru Enterprises workers were left baffled by an 11cm paw print discovered north of Abbot Point last week, believing it belonged to a giant feral cat.
That sparked claims it could belong to a mountain lion, an animal extremely unlikely to be sighted in North Queensland.
But wildlife experts yesterday hosed down that claim, saying there were telltale signs that the print belonged to a member of the canine species, not feline. “Given the claw imprints I suspect a dog. Cats generally don’t leave claw marks,” James Cook University animal expert Professor Andrew Krockenberger said.
James Cook University PhD student in dingo ecology Damian Morrant confirmed the track was from a dog, not a mountain cat.
“I’d be thrilled if they were from a big cat,” he said.
“But I agree with Andrew; they’re dog tracks.
“Also the rear pad of the foot on a cat has three distinct lobes, with a slight indentation at the front.
“A dog has only two lobes and no indentation.
“Finally, the two front toes are ‘aligned’ in these tracks, whereas cat toes are not.