Seem's we have about 1000 Puma's in Australia

1000 would be an impossible figure to go unnoticed.
Under 50 may be possible, but is that enough to maintain the breed?
 
Once when I was at a Panthers home game I shook its hand, as long as you dont shoot them Panthers are quite nice.
 
Endangered at 50. So could that mean they could survive and breed with less? Remember we're only assuming they've been there for 70 years (7 animal generations).

I think it is possible.
 
I dont think its possible, its been 70 years and yet theres NO irrefutable evidence? Judge Judy would throw it out of court so fast it would make your head spin.
 
My Grandad used to be known as "the Silver Fox", down in Victoria, as he maintained that he kept seeing a silver fox. Turns out that he was right, someone shot it.

He also maintained that he'd seen Tasmanian Tigers, which I still refuse to discount as a possiblity.

Pumas have been reported in Stawell, and have there have been photos of American forces with their "mascots" in Oz. However, unless they "hook up" with another bog cat, then they must be reall really old by now.

The Lithgow Panther was a great story recently, as they were touting "90 plus cm long". I measured Kerry's cat "Lestat" 93cm tip of tail to tip of nose, and was 12kG at the time
 
There have been reports of many more than 1000 or so pumas roaming Australia. Some people reckon there might be as much as 5000 or so, mostly down south in Victoria and NSW. Actually, my friend was bushwalking down in the ACT, out of Canberra and swears she saw a pair of pumas. She reckons she was talking to some guy down there who had some pumas try and take him by his feet - he was out camping one night and when he woke up there was one trying to eat each of his feet. What's even more amazing is the same guy who lives out there says he's had 2 pumas wander INSIDE his house. He managed to get a pic of it, though it's pretty blurry...it's from his website.


puma.jpg
 
Goreripper said:
if pumas have been wandering about the bush unmolested for 60 years, there would be far more than 1000 of them in the country. They'd be everywhere.
Not nessecarily. If only a dozen or so were released, 60 years later we'd only be looking at a very small population. Probably under 100. And they'd be more inbred than the locals.